Can stuttering be cured through the induction of plastic change in the brain?

It is well established that some stutters can experience spontaneous improvement in fluency when speaking in chorus or with song, a so called choral effect. We are of the belief that if technical intervention against stuttering or moderated speech is initiated while the brain is still plastic, before the age of 7 years, it may be possible to induce persistent fluency as the brain re-modulates to circumvent dysfunctional nerve tracts. This hypothesis is based on the brains significant potential for plastic change and logical deduction from the empirical treatment of astigmatism.

Stuttering: What we Know after 60 years

MEMPHIS, Tenn. ' Cutting the tongue and stuffing a dishtowel in a child's mouth were two ways people treated stuttering just a few decades ago.

We've come a long way since the Stuttering Foundation started shattering misconceptions about this mysterious disorder 60 years ago.

The Age Factor in Stuttering

Age is among the strongest risk factors for stuttering with several important implications. Although the disorder begins within a wide age-range, current robust evidence indicates that, for a very large proportion of cases, it erupts during the preschool period. Data obtained at the University of Illinois Stuttering Research Program revealed that for 65% of the child participants, stuttering onset occurred prior to age 3; the figure rose to 85% by 3 1/2 years of age (Yairi & Ambrose, 2005). Leaving room for some sampling errors, children past age 4 face a relatively low risk for stuttering. From clinical considerations, these statistics call for greater emphasis on preparing clinicians for working with early childhood stuttering.

Pagoclone and Clinical Trials

LEXINGTON, Mass. (Sept. 26, 2006) - Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEV) today announced that following an End of Phase II meeting with the FDA, the Company has established a clinical plan towards regulatory approval of pagoclone for the treatment of persistent developmental stuttering (PDS) and will initiate a Phase III trial in the first half of 2007.

Genetic Research

Research advances in genetics are in the news almost every day. Many of these news reports tell of the discovery of a gene that causes a disease or other medical problem. While these reports are often exciting and provocative, it is often not easy to understand exactly what has been discovered and how that discovery will help the people with that disorder. There are a number of studies on the genetics of stuttering now in progress. Findings from these studies are beginning to appear, and there is much hope that more discoveries, telling us more important information about stuttering, will soon be made. What exactly are these studies, and what do scientists hope to learn from them?

DAF in Stuttering: A Potential Anatomical Link

At this juncture neuroscientists believe that developmental stuttering is a complex motor speech disorder with a strong genetic link. Based on converging evidence from cognitive-behavioral, genetic, neurophysiological and neuroanatomical studies, we have learned that it is likely that stuttering does not result from one causative factor. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that biological subtypes may be demonstrable with the potential that different therapies may benefit different biologically specific types of stuttering. In a series of recent studies our research group has focused on the anatomy and functional representation of the auditory system in individuals with developmental stuttering.

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