Abstract
Vibrational energy created at the larynx during speech will deflect vestibular mechanoreceptors in humans (Todd et al., 2008; Curthoys, 2017; Curthoys et al., 2019). Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP), an indirect measure of vestibular function, was assessed in 15 participants who stutter, with a non-stutter control group of 15 participants paired on age and sex. VEMP amplitude was 8.5 dB smaller in the stutter group than the non-stutter group (p = 0.035, 95% CI [−0.9, −16.1], t = −2.1, d = −0.8, conditional R2 = 0.88). The finding is subclinical as regards gravitoinertial function, and is interpreted with regard to speech-motor function in stuttering. There is overlap between brain areas receiving vestibular innervation, and brain areas identified as important in studies of persistent developmental stuttering. These include the auditory brainstem, cerebellar vermis, and the temporo-parietal junction. The finding supports the disruptive rhythm hypothesis (Howell et al., 1983; Howell, 2004) in which sensory inputs additional to own speech audition are fluency-enhancing when they coordinate with ongoing speech.
Highlights
Persistent developmental stuttering manifests as prolongations or repetitions of speech sounds, or blocks to airflow, characteristically accompanied by increased tension in muscles of the face and articulatory system (Bloodstein et al, 2021)
The findings are to a large degree captured by the disruptive rhythm hypothesis (Howell et al, 1983; Howell, 2004), which proposes that sensory inputs additional to own speech audition will be maximally fluency-enhancing when they coordinate with ongoing speech
Presentation count was approximately equal per participant, and over approximately the same stimulus range, meaning that the histogram gives an indication of distribution participant. Stuttering in these two participants differed from the others in the stutter group
Summary
Persistent developmental stuttering manifests as prolongations or repetitions of speech sounds, or blocks to airflow, characteristically accompanied by increased tension in muscles of the face and articulatory system (Bloodstein et al, 2021). A consistent finding in stuttering research is that the amount of stuttering can be reduced with alterations to timing and/or audition during ongoing speech. Examples of fluency-inducing interventions for people who stutter include speaking with masking (Kern, 1932; Cherry et al, 1956), with a metronome (Barber, 1939; Fransella and Beech, 1965), in chorus with another speaker (Barber, 1940; Cherry et al, 1956), or in tandem with delayed (Neelly, 1961; Yates, 1963) and frequency-shifted (Howell et al, 1987) playback of ongoing speech.
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