Risperidone reduces tic-like motor behaviors and linguistic dysfluencies in severe persistent developmental stuttering.

摘要

Developmental stuttering is characterized by tonic-clonic, tic-like motor behaviors of the orofacial district, which result in a disorder in the rhythm and fluency parameters of voluntary speech. Developmental stuttering has a childhood onset rate of almost 5% in the typically developing population; yet, it is unclear why in about 1% it persists into adulthood, determining a severe communication impairment. Neuroimaging data suggest a disorder in corticosubcortical networks subserving speech selection, initiation, and timely execution in developmental stutterers, thus supporting neuropsycho-logical models that posit a joined contribution of disordered linguistic and motor systems in defining the type and frequency of stuttering behaviors.