Health & Medicine
Rhythm Perception May Be Linked To Stuttering, Study Finds
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: May 19, 2015 02:57 PM EDT
New findings published in the journal Brain and Language reveal that stuttering may also be associated with rhythm perception.
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that children who stutter or deal with difficulties surrounding sounds or words may also have irregularities that disrupt their perceived rhythm.
"Stuttering has primarily been interpreted as a speech motor difficulty, but this is the first study that shows it's related to a rhythm perception deficit -- in other words, the ability to perceive and keep a beat," Devin McAuley, co-author of the study and professor of psychology, said in a statement. "That's important because it identifies potential interventions which might focus on improving beat perception in children who stutter, which then might translate to improved fluency in speech."
During the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from a group of children who stuttered and a group who didn't by listening to and then identifying rhythmic drumbeats in the context of a computer game.
Yet even after looking at the children's IQ's and language abilities, researchers found that participants who stuttered were worse at judging if two rhythms were the same or different.
Deciphering between two rhythms is crucial for maintaining normal speech patterns, according to researchers. Fortunately, when adults who stutter speak in time with a metronome, they can significantly improve their speech.
Stuttering is estimated to affect 70 million people worldwide.
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First Posted: May 19, 2015 02:57 PM EDT
New findings published in the journal Brain and Language reveal that stuttering may also be associated with rhythm perception.
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that children who stutter or deal with difficulties surrounding sounds or words may also have irregularities that disrupt their perceived rhythm.
"Stuttering has primarily been interpreted as a speech motor difficulty, but this is the first study that shows it's related to a rhythm perception deficit -- in other words, the ability to perceive and keep a beat," Devin McAuley, co-author of the study and professor of psychology, said in a statement. "That's important because it identifies potential interventions which might focus on improving beat perception in children who stutter, which then might translate to improved fluency in speech."
During the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from a group of children who stuttered and a group who didn't by listening to and then identifying rhythmic drumbeats in the context of a computer game.
Yet even after looking at the children's IQ's and language abilities, researchers found that participants who stuttered were worse at judging if two rhythms were the same or different.
Deciphering between two rhythms is crucial for maintaining normal speech patterns, according to researchers. Fortunately, when adults who stutter speak in time with a metronome, they can significantly improve their speech.
Stuttering is estimated to affect 70 million people worldwide.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone