Stuttering Medical Glossary
Understanding stuttering starts with understanding the language around it. This glossary defines key terms used in stuttering research, diagnosis, and treatment — whether you’re a person who stutters, a family member, or a healthcare professional looking to deepen your knowledge.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
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A neurodevelopmental condition often co-existing with stuttering related to attention, impulsivity, and activity level.
- Basal ganglia
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A brain structure involved in motor planning and execution and thought to be central in stuttering.
- Biologic approaches
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Treatments based on underlying brain or body mechanisms, including medication and brain-based interventions.
- Blocks
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Moments when speech feels stuck or will not come out smoothly.
- Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
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A more invasive brain-stimulation approach being studied for severe persistent stuttering.
- Dopamine dysregulation
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Excess or an unbalanced dopamine activity in speech-related brain regions that may contribute to stuttering.
- Motor planning
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The brain’s process for organizing and coordinating movement, including the movements needed for speech.
- Multidisciplinary care
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A team-based approach that may involve physicians, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals.
- Neurobiology of stuttering
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The brain-based mechanisms that may contribute to stuttering and help explain why fluency disruptions occur.
- Neuroimaging
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Brain imaging used to study activity and function related to stuttering.
- Neuromodulation
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A treatment approach that aims to change neural activity in the brain.
- Neurotransmitter imbalance
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A difference in the brain’s chemical signaling that may play a role in stuttering.
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
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A coexisting condition with stuttering associated with recurring intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors.
- Pediatric Autoimmune Neulogic Disorders (PANS)
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An autoimmune syndrome that may underlie the cause of stuttering in certain individuals.
- Pharmacological treatment
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Medication-based treatment approaches to help reduce stuttering and address co-existing conditions.
- Prolongations
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Stretching out a sound longer than intended while speaking.
- Psychotherapy
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A therapeutic approach that can be combined with medical or speech treatment to address the broader impact of stuttering.
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A condition often co-existing with stuttering involving intense fear.
- Speech fluency
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The smooth, coordinated flow of speech. When that flow is interrupted, a person may experience fluency disruptions.
- Stuttering
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A Brain based neurologic disorder that affects the timing, initiation, and flow of speech. It can show up as repetitions, prolongations, or blocks.
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
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A noninvasive brain-stimulation technique being explored as a possible stuttering treatment.
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