Stuttering, Cause of

This entry addresses the question of what causes an individual to stutter and discusses a model for understanding “moments of stuttering.” Despite decades of research, the cause of stuttering is not fully understood. There is little doubt that genetics play a part; most people who stutter have a family history of stuttering. However, there is no clear model of inheritance. As discussed in a 2017 article, “Genetic Contributions to Stuttering” by Carolos Frigerio-Domingues and Dennis Drayna, although four genes have been identified as contributing to stuttering, they account for only 20% of cases. It is interesting, for example, that although concordance for stuttering is higher in monozygotic than in dizygotic twins, it is not perfect.

On the other hand, there is clear evidence from decades of ...