The Facts
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 also be of interest:
- Medical Aspects of Stuttering [2]: A study with olanzapine.
- Recent Developments [3] Highlight Genetic Causes in Speech Disorders
- Are the Brains of People Who Stutter Different? [4] learning more about the biological basis of stuttering by Anne L. Foundas, MD
- Genetic Research on Stuttering [5] What is it? What will it tell us? How will it benefit people who stutter. An article by Dr. Dennis Drayna.
- Neural Bases of Stuttering and its Treatment [6]. An article by Robert Kroll and Luc F. De Nil.
- Research Studies Interaction of Language and Motor Processing in Stuttering [7]? by Anne Smith, Ph.D., Purdue University.
- Research in Early Childhood Stuttering [8]. by Ehud Yairi
- A Study on using Alprazolam, Citalopram, and Clomipramine for Stuttering [9] by Dr. John Paul Brady.
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