Neurobiological and genetic base of stuttering

Abstract

Mucanje je poremećaj govora popraćen zastajkivanjem, ponavljanjem slogova i općenito otežanim tokom izgovaranja misli. Prema pojavi i trajanju se dijeli na razvojno mucanje u djece dobi 3-6 g. i oporavak se događa u većini slučajeva, dok se kronično mucanje koje traje čitavog života može samo ublažiti govornim terapijama i lijekovima. Dokazane su brojne morfološke anomalije u strukturi mozga ljudi koji mucaju, no sve više se istražuje i genetička pozadina odgovorna za pojavu ovog poremećaja. Dosad nije dokazano jedinstveno porijeklo mucanja, pa je izgledno da postoji više oblika i tipova mucanja ovisno o uzroku. Potrebna su daljnja istraživanja za bolje razumijevanje patofiziologije mucanja, kako bi se u budućnosti mogli razvijati lijekovi ili čak genske terapije prilagođene svakom pojedincu i njegovom obliku mucanja.Stuttering is a speech disorder characterized by prolongations, part-word repetitions and overall difficulties with fluent utterance. By its onset and duration, stuttering is divided on developmental stuttering in children aged 3-6 years, whose recovery occurs in most of the cases, and persistent stuttering that lasts for a lifetime and can only be mitigated with speech or drug therapies. There are numerous arguments for various morphological anomalies in the structure of a stuttering brain, but the number of researches on genetic background of the disorder is also increasing. Hitherto there hasn't been found a unique origin of stuttering, so it's likely that there are several subtypes of stuttering depending on the cause. Future research is required for better understanding of pathophysiology underlying stuttering, so the upcoming treatments or even gene therapies can be targeted and adjusted for individual cases