tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post8150635297349878067..comments2024-03-24T15:07:18.773+01:00Comments on The Stuttering Brain: Deryk conquering the stuttering wildnessTom Weidighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02084153394215001999noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-44146677925358156532013-04-29T15:40:41.898+02:002013-04-29T15:40:41.898+02:00Hi,
I realise this is an old interview, however I...Hi,<br /><br />I realise this is an old interview, however I think it's worth adding my comment anyway as others may stumble on this interview the way I did and my experience may be of interest.<br /><br />I was born profoundly Deaf and am fluent in both English and sign language. I stutter in both spoken and signed language production. While taking out my hearing aids does reduce my verbal stuttering somewhat, it does not eliminate it completely. My stuttering in sign follows the same pattern of disfluency as my spoken stuttering, with blocks in the same functional position of a sentence, for example. I come from a family with other stutterers and we all began stuttering in early childhood. <br /><br />I think it is worth noting two points regarding stuttering and the Deaf. Firstly, we do stutter in both spoken and signed language and this is being documented more and more frequently. Secondly, not all of the Deaf have poor pronunciation as described in the interview. Some of us speak so clearly they people do not realise we are Deaf, myself included. There is a very wide range of speech skill among us. While these are side issues when considering most of the points raised in the interview, they are worth noting none the less.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-32649071373415723772010-08-15T11:51:31.407+02:002010-08-15T11:51:31.407+02:00http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictu...http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13524864055602706537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-39722247659255104582010-02-08T20:13:30.791+01:002010-02-08T20:13:30.791+01:00Hi Eric
Thank you for following, and critiquing, ...Hi Eric<br /><br />Thank you for following, and critiquing, stuttering research.<br /><br />The potential contribution of auditory feedback differences to silent blocking behaviour is, admittedly, not obvious at first. However, if we consider the role of auditory feedback within a neural network model of speech production, such as the DIVA model, then we can begin to make intelligent hypotheses about how the two phenomena could be related. Various models of motor control posit that our actions are governed by two interacting control circuits, namely feedforward and feedback circuits. Several authors have proposed that stuttering may arise from deficiencies within these control circuits, specifically problems with the information available for feedforward control (Brown et al., 2005; Corbera et al., 2004; Max et al., 2004; Neilson & Neilson, 1987). Oren Civier and Frank Guenther have proposed that "because auditory feedback is not<br />available in the silent periods of speech, people who stutter must depend then on the impaired feedforward commands that are not capable of bringing the articulators to their correct positions." (Civier et al., 2010). At this time I believe that this is the most clearly articulated explanation as to how auditory feedback is related to silent blocks at the beginning of speech utterances. <br /><br />I also appreciated your question about the role of neurotransmitters, their manipulation by environmental variables and the relation to stuttering. The response of people who stutter becoming more fluent while under the influence of dopamine altering medications (as discussed at length on this website and others) is the best evidence of your assertion that neurotransmitters play an important role in the disorder. The work of Per Alm and Sarah Smits-Bandstra linking basal ganglia function to the disorder adds to this suggestion. Further investigation of the structure and function of the basal ganglia and their associated cortical loop with the SMA is needed to better understand the potential role of these structures and their related neurotransmitters in stuttering.Deryk Bealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16723539814383796216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-21644915578156796922010-02-08T16:58:05.607+01:002010-02-08T16:58:05.607+01:00First of all, thanks to Deryk for research in the ...First of all, thanks to Deryk for research in the field. I'm always interested in reading about new studies. I have a couple of comments, that I would like to add, relevant to the topic:<br /><br />I believe that the auditory feeback issue with stuttering is just a consequence of the root cause of the problem, which I believe is a physiological issue with the brain and it's several networks that may control sppech thought and speech execution of that thought.<br /><br />A good example would be trying to explain how auditory feedback is related to a silent block. Many people who stutter (including myself) stutter moreso with blocks than with repitiion of syllables or words. A block is before any auditory feedback at all.<br /><br />My second comment deals with the question of 'why are we magically fluent in certain situations and not others':<br /><br />I personally believe the there are triggers (stress, environment, learned behaviors, etc) that exploit the root cause/physiological abnormaility in the neural circuits via neurotransmitters. I believe the brain of a stutterer reacts differently to or produces too much/too little of certain neurotranmitters in response to certain 'triggers'. This exloits the underlying neutophysical 'defiicieny' in the brain of the stutterer.<br /><br />What do you think?Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-85470757941912535942010-02-03T04:43:04.803+01:002010-02-03T04:43:04.803+01:00Very interesting! Also, as a clinician I support ...Very interesting! Also, as a clinician I support whole-heartedly the idea of a place for research clinicians in speech pathology departments. The field definitely needs help in translating research into clinical outcomes in the community.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-65068980382253754192010-01-31T02:06:19.757+01:002010-01-31T02:06:19.757+01:00Mark B,
your hearing is very good 100% and no do...Mark B, <br /><br />your hearing is very good 100% and no doubt about it. <br /><br />But I think there are differences between how young PWS and how old PWS in terms of hearing differences, in terms of certain dBs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-29911239922164817542010-01-30T23:39:07.294+01:002010-01-30T23:39:07.294+01:00Deryk
Anecdotal evidence. I am 55 now, and a life...Deryk<br /><br />Anecdotal evidence. I am 55 now, and a life-long stutterer. My stuttering improved considerably by the time I was 35, and is better still now. I expect to stutter to some degree every day, but the severity and rate are far less than when I was younger. My hearing is also very good.Mark B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-18841062245282112572010-01-30T19:44:02.354+01:002010-01-30T19:44:02.354+01:00Hi Anon
"So as people who stutter age and lo...Hi Anon<br /><br />"So as people who stutter age and lose their hearing, it has an unintended consequence on their stuttering severity?"<br /><br />This is a fascinating question! Many people who stutter have shared anecdotes that their stuttering severity becomes reduced with age. It is well known that white-noise masking and other auditory feedback manipulations increase the likelihood of fluent speech in many people who stutter. It would be very interesting to explore if age-related hearing loss was associated with increased periods of fluent speech / reduced stuttering severity. I'm not sure how we could go about investigating this question using a strong research methodology. We would likely be limited to the use of historical questionnaires and a correlational study. What do other people think?Deryk Bealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16723539814383796216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-66731040396148377782010-01-30T19:32:06.809+01:002010-01-30T19:32:06.809+01:00Hi Peter
"Maybe I'm asking stupid questi...Hi Peter<br /><br />"Maybe I'm asking stupid questions again, but surely the 'magic fluency periods' are the result of low stress?"<br /><br />Your question is important. The anecdotal evidence suggests that stress influences the frequency of speech units stuttered. I believe that if we understood WHY and HOW, on a neural level, stress influences stuttering frequency it would move us much closer to understanding the disorder as a whole. <br /><br />On a lighter note, allow me to remind readers of the comments section that I followed up my colloquial cliche "I would be rich" with the qualifying statement that I would not really be rich because I would share the answer for free!Deryk Bealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16723539814383796216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-22740347120161351062010-01-30T11:41:23.124+01:002010-01-30T11:41:23.124+01:00"TSB: So how come we have magic fluency perio..."TSB: So how come we have magic fluency periods or stuttering more severely in certain situations?<br /><br />Deryk: If I had the answer to that question I would be rich"<br /><br />Maybe I'm asking stupid questions again, but surely the 'magic fluency periods' are the result of low stress? Eg. when on holiday or very relaxed. And we stutter more severely when in high stress (when many stressors are in force). So many factors affect stress, even the weather and age.Peter Louwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11762124725640299873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12602489.post-18452667877778845442010-01-30T08:42:26.210+01:002010-01-30T08:42:26.210+01:00So as people who stutter age and lose their hearin...So as people who stutter age and lose their hearing, it has an unintended consequence on their stuttering severity?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com