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Stuttering in adults: The acoustic startle response, temperamental traits, and biological factors.

Alm, Per LU and Risberg, Jarl LU (2007) In Journal of Communication Disorders 40(1). p.1-41
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between stuttering and a range of variables of possible relevance, with the main focus on neuromuscular reactivity, and anxiety. The explorative analysis also included temperament, biochemical variables, heredity, preonset lesions, and altered auditory feedback (AAF). An increased level of neuromuscular reactivity in stuttering adults has previously been reported by [Guitar, B. (2003). Acoustic startle responses and temperament in individuals who stutter. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 46, 233-240], also indicating a link to anxiety and temperament. The present study included a large number of variables in order to enable analysis of subgroups and relations between... (More)
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between stuttering and a range of variables of possible relevance, with the main focus on neuromuscular reactivity, and anxiety. The explorative analysis also included temperament, biochemical variables, heredity, preonset lesions, and altered auditory feedback (AAF). An increased level of neuromuscular reactivity in stuttering adults has previously been reported by [Guitar, B. (2003). Acoustic startle responses and temperament in individuals who stutter. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 46, 233-240], also indicating a link to anxiety and temperament. The present study included a large number of variables in order to enable analysis of subgroups and relations between variables. Totally 32 stuttering adults were compared with nonstuttering controls. The acoustic startle eyeblink response was used as a measure of neuromuscular reactivity. No significant group difference was found regarding startle, and startle was not significantly correlated with trait anxiety, stuttering severity, or AAF. Startle was mainly related to calcium and prolactin. The stuttering group had significantly higher scores for anxiety and childhood ADHD. Two subgroups of stuttering were found, with high versus low traits of childhood ADHD, characterized by indications of preonset lesions versus heredity for stuttering. The study does not support the view that excessive reactivity is a typical characteristic of stuttering. The increased anxiety is suggested to mainly be an effect of experiences of stuttering. Learning outcomes: As a result of reading this article, the reader will be able to: (a) critically discuss the literature regarding stuttering in relation to acoustic startle, anxiety, and temperament; (b) describe the effect of calcium on neuromuscular reactivity; (c) discuss findings supporting the importance of early neurological incidents in some cases of stuttering, and the relation between such incidents and traits of ADHD or ADD; and (d) discuss the role of genetics in stuttering. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Communication Disorders
volume
40
issue
1
pages
1 - 41
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000243672400001
  • scopus:33750957963
ISSN
1873-7994
DOI
10.1016/j.jcomdis.2006.04.001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3a2b649e-9ef9-4b65-8cb1-c6be623ae523 (old id 159275)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16814317&dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:41:24
date last changed
2022-03-20 17:33:23
@article{3a2b649e-9ef9-4b65-8cb1-c6be623ae523,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between stuttering and a range of variables of possible relevance, with the main focus on neuromuscular reactivity, and anxiety. The explorative analysis also included temperament, biochemical variables, heredity, preonset lesions, and altered auditory feedback (AAF). An increased level of neuromuscular reactivity in stuttering adults has previously been reported by [Guitar, B. (2003). Acoustic startle responses and temperament in individuals who stutter. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 46, 233-240], also indicating a link to anxiety and temperament. The present study included a large number of variables in order to enable analysis of subgroups and relations between variables. Totally 32 stuttering adults were compared with nonstuttering controls. The acoustic startle eyeblink response was used as a measure of neuromuscular reactivity. No significant group difference was found regarding startle, and startle was not significantly correlated with trait anxiety, stuttering severity, or AAF. Startle was mainly related to calcium and prolactin. The stuttering group had significantly higher scores for anxiety and childhood ADHD. Two subgroups of stuttering were found, with high versus low traits of childhood ADHD, characterized by indications of preonset lesions versus heredity for stuttering. The study does not support the view that excessive reactivity is a typical characteristic of stuttering. The increased anxiety is suggested to mainly be an effect of experiences of stuttering. Learning outcomes: As a result of reading this article, the reader will be able to: (a) critically discuss the literature regarding stuttering in relation to acoustic startle, anxiety, and temperament; (b) describe the effect of calcium on neuromuscular reactivity; (c) discuss findings supporting the importance of early neurological incidents in some cases of stuttering, and the relation between such incidents and traits of ADHD or ADD; and (d) discuss the role of genetics in stuttering.}},
  author       = {{Alm, Per and Risberg, Jarl}},
  issn         = {{1873-7994}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{1--41}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Communication Disorders}},
  title        = {{Stuttering in adults: The acoustic startle response, temperamental traits, and biological factors.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2006.04.001}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jcomdis.2006.04.001}},
  volume       = {{40}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}