Alleviating stuttering with pharmacological interventions

Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2004 Jul;5(7):1565-71. doi: 10.1517/14656566.5.7.1565.

Abstract

Stuttering is a speech disorder characterised by frequent prolongations, repetitions or blocks of spoken sounds and/or syllables. Stuttering is very common and is classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) as an Axis I disorder. In spite of this, stuttering treatment is sporadically addressed by a practicing physician, especially in the US. Much has recently been learned of the neurophysiological basis of this disorder, which has provided insight into novel treatment strategies, thus helping to guide the practising clinician. Stuttering is likely to be associated, at least in part, to dopamine hyperactivity in the brain. Novel dopamine antagonists such as risperidone and olanzapine, have recently been shown to improve the symptoms of stuttering providing a strong foundation for physicians to more effectively treat this disorder.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Benzodiazepines / pharmacology
  • Benzodiazepines / therapeutic use
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Dopamine Antagonists / pharmacology
  • Dopamine Antagonists / therapeutic use*
  • Frontal Lobe / drug effects
  • Frontal Lobe / physiology
  • Humans
  • Interdisciplinary Communication
  • Olanzapine
  • Risperidone / pharmacology
  • Risperidone / therapeutic use
  • Stuttering / drug therapy*
  • Stuttering / etiology
  • Stuttering / physiopathology
  • Temporal Lobe / drug effects
  • Temporal Lobe / physiology

Substances

  • Dopamine Antagonists
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Risperidone
  • Olanzapine