Why do people stutter and can it be cured?

According to statistics, about 5% of our populationthe planet is suffering from stuttering. Most often, difficulties with the pronunciation of words arise very early, at the age of 2 to 7 years. This problem usually disappears with age, but there are adults in the world who cannot get rid of it in any way. Scientists have been trying to figure out the cause of stuttering for a long time, but they still cannot give an exact answer. But there are assumptions - most likely, the reason lies in the malfunctioning of some areas of the brain. There are ways to get rid of stuttering, and there are a lot of them. As part of this article, I propose to find out what interesting scientists can tell about this unusual phenomenon and what is the likelihood that someday all people will begin to speak as clearly as possible and become happier?

Adult stuttering can make life very difficult

What are the forms of stuttering?

People have stuttered since time immemorial.Historical documents say that difficulties with the pronunciation of words arose among pharaohs, kings, poets, philosophers and many other famous people. Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Lewis Carroll, and even the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley were stutterers. But for many of them, this ailment has passed - stuttering was mainly observed in childhood. There is even a mention of stuttering in the hieroglyphs of the Aztecs. They believed that babies stutter due to too long feeding on breast milk. Treatment consisted of weaning from milk and getting used to normal food.

Many famous people were stutterers. In the photo - Elvis Presley

Stuttering can be divided into two types:

• tonic, when, during pronunciation, a person simply stretches some sounds;
• clonic, when a person repeats individual sounds and words.

Also, stuttering is neurosis-like andneurotic. In the first case, people stutter in any case and make involuntary movements. In the second case, there are no oddities in movement and people stutter only when talking with strangers. However, all stutterers sometimes have unnatural grimaces when they try to overcome stuttering.

See also: Why do most people not like their own voice on the recording?

Causes of stuttering in children and adults

It is believed that speech defect often occurs whensevere fright in childhood. Even adults, under the influence of intense fear, can begin to pronounce words with difficulty. There is even a list of factors that can cause stuttering:

• the presence of conflict situations in the family that traumatize the child's psyche;
• the presence of already stuttering people around the child;
• learning two or more languages ​​too early;
• lack of communication.

In 2016, researchers noticed that people withstuttering is observed reduced blood flow in the center of Broca. This is the name of the area of ​​the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for a person's speech abilities. And recently, American scientists have found that astrocytes play an important role in the occurrence of stuttering in children. These are star-shaped brain cells that perform many tasks. For example, they support nerve cells, regulate the composition of the intercellular fluid, participate in the growth of nerve tissues and protect them from harmful substances.

Broca's Center in the Human Brain

Incorrect work of the departments responsible for speechthe brain leads to spasms of the speech apparatus: tongue, lips, palate, and so on. Sometimes respiratory cramps occur, in which a person feels that he does not have enough air.

Due to the resulting spasms, spasms, a person seems to hiccup... That is why this speech defect is called hiccups.

Stuttering treatment

There are many treatments for stuttering, but noneof them cannot give 100% result. And all because scientists are still not completely clear, because of what this speech defect disappears with age. A separate mystery is why this problem persists in some adults? The method of treatment depends on each specific situation. If stuttering has arisen due to severe fright, a person is recommended to undergo psychotherapy. Sometimes exercises that are recommended by a speech therapist help with stuttering.

Children will need a psychotherapist in any case, because stuttering is often the cause of peer bullying

Interesting fact: Russian psychiatrist Ivan Sikorsky in his work "Aboutstuttering "recommended people with speech impairments to speak slowly, in a low voice and monotonous tone. Thus, in his opinion, stuttering can be minimized.

Scientists recently discovered that hiccups canhelp medications that speed up the metabolism in certain areas of the brain. The effect was especially strong when exposed to the so-called striatum of the brain, which is responsible for the work of muscles. But this is just the result of one of many studies, so there may be side effects to this treatment.

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There are other articles on our site about problems,that can occur with the human body. For example, by clicking on this link, you can read about strabismus and methods of its treatment. Enjoy reading!