Evaluation of EEG in stutterers and non-stutterers

The etiology of stuttering, which is estimated to have an incidence rate of 1%, and existent differences between stutterers and non-stutterers continues to be interesting and intriguing phenomena. The aim of the present study was to investigate EEG patterns in stutterers and non-stutterers resident in Isfahan. 31 stutterers and 31 non-stutterers participated in a case-control, double-blinded clinical trial study. Subjects were matched for age, sex, and education. None of subjects had cluttering, mental retardation, hearing loss, motor disorders, brain damage or history of medication use. EEG was performed in the same condition for all subjects and the results were statistically analyzed through independent t and exact fisher tests using SPSS version10. The results of the present research showed that there were significant differences between two study groups (stutterers and non-stutterers) on the basis of frequency and amplitude. However, pathologic (epileptiform) waves did not significantly differ as these two groups were compared. The observed differences between stutterers and non-stutterers indicate brain functions differences which may affect processing, control, execution of speech.