Auditory brainstem responses of stutterers and nonstutterers during speech production

This study was designed to determine if significant, predictable stimulus-related variations in evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) could be documented between stuttering and nonstuttering adults during various verbal rehearsal tasks. ABRs were recorded while subjects were engaged in overt speech, whispering, silent articulation, and covert verbal rehearsal tasks. Results revealed that stutterers demonstrated significantly larger Wave I absolute amplitudes, and significantly larger Wave V to Wave I relative amplitude ratios (V/I) than nonstutterers. Such variations may serve to further an understanding of a possible relationship between dysfluent speech and central nervous system functioning. No significant differences were found between stuttering and nonstuttering subjects for absolute or interpeak latencies of the ABRs during the verbal rehearsal tasks.