Basic Research
The Foundation is turning its attention more and more to various facets of basic research.
Brain Research
Neuroimaging studies have greatly enhanced the potential to understand
brain-behavior relationships in complex behaviors such as speech and
language. A recent study by Dr. Anne Foundas, M.D., Department of
Psychiatry and Neurology, Tulane University, revealed the first evidence
that anatomic anomalies may put an individual at risk for the
development of stuttering. Research efforts are expanding which should
provide information to develop targeted behavioral and pharmacological
interventions, and may lead to earlier detection of individuals at risk
for developmental stuttering, according to Dr. Foundas. The Foundation
is promoting this research in various ways.
Genetic Research
Finding the genes involved in stuttering and understanding what they do
in people who stutter and in those who are normally fluent holds the
promise of revealing some of the underlying causes of stuttering. From
this, researchers hope to be able to develop better therapies for those
who stutter. The Foundation is actively involved in a project directed
by Dr. Dennis Drayna of the National Institute on Deafness and other
Communicative Disorders searching for genetic markers associated with
stuttering. “Knowing the location of these genes is the first step
toward finding the genes themselves which could provide major new
insights into the causes of stuttering,” Drayna says.
The following articles may be of interest:
- Genetic Studies Gain Ground
- Hand preference and footedeness: Atypical Handedness in Developmental Stuttering By Anne Foundas, M.D.
- Results of Survey on Electronic Devices.
- Scientists find evidence for gene that predisposes individuals to stuttering. (Fall 2003)
- Delayed Auditory Feedback most helpful for those who stutter with Atypical Auditory Anatomy. (Summer 2003)
- Medical Aspects of Stuttering: A study with olanzapine. (Summer 2002)
- Recent Developments Highlight Genetic Causes in Speech Disorders. (Winter 2002)
- Are the Brains of People who Stutter Different? A study by Anne L. Foundas, MD. (Summer 2001)
- Genetic Research on Stuttering—What is it? What will it tell us? How will it benefit people who stutter. An article by Dr. Dennis Drayna. (Summer 2000)
- A Study on using Alprazolam, Citalopram, and Clomipramine for Stuttering by Dr. John Paul Brady (Fall 2000)
- Neural Bases of Stuttering and its Treatment. An article by Robert Kroll and Luc F. De Nil. (Summer 2000)
- A new and exciting look at stuttering in relation to language and motor processing by Anne Smith, Ph.D., Purdue University: Research Studies Interaction of Language and Motor Processing in Stuttering. (Winter 1999-2000)
- If your child has been in speech therapy for a problem other than stuttering but has begun to stutter, you should read the article by Nancy E. Hall, Ph.D.: Treating Coexisting Stuttering, Language, and Phonology Disorders. (Winter 1999-2000)
- Research in Early Childhood Stuttering by Ehud Yairi. (Winter 1999-2000)
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