‘Stammering’ Experiment On Mice Throws Light On Common Human Speech Disorder

First Posted: Apr 16, 2016 05:20 AM EDT
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Scientists from the Washington University in St Louis (WUSTL) have created stuttering mice to gain more insight into the common speech disorder that afflicts humans. The rodents were genetically mutated so that they reproduced something akin to a stammer while squeaking.

According to WUSTL's online platform the Source, it was noticed that genetically mutated baby mice squeaked with more pauses in the first few days of life. The mouse pups also exhibited more repetitive and halting sequences in the noise they produced. However, the baby rodents did not display any other obvious language problems. Furthermore, the squeaks of the mutated mice were similar to the ultrasonic syllables emitted by normal ones.

The researchers involved in the study wanted to understand the biological pathways that lead to stammering so that potential treatments and medicinal drugs can be tested to address the disorder. "These mice aren't stuttering but they show a lot of features that are similar to a human that stutters, so this is an incredibly powerful research tool," said Terra Barnes of WUSTL. "We can find the neural correlates of stuttering, identify the underlying biological mechanisms, and maybe work out how to fix it". Barnes feels that there is a higher possibility of research in an animal model because many of these studies can't be done on humans.

Earlier, stammering was blamed on causes like stress, anxiety and, in some cases, even bad parenting. However, now, the underlying cause of the speech disorder is reported to be biological in nature. It has also been said that though stress may not be a cause, it could exacerbate the situation. In 2010, scientists found mutations in a gene called Gnptab that appeared to cause stammering in some people.

The discovery came as a surprise because Gnptab usually carries out functions like digesting waste inside the cells of the body etc. Based on the study, the scientists at WUSTL went on to create mice with Gnptab mutations to see whether they would display similar symptoms of stuttering, and consequently could help in throwing more light on the affliction and its causative factors.

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