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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task
Published on: May 3, 2018
Evidence that a motor timing deficit is a factor in the development of stuttering
Lindsey Olander1, Anne Smith, Howard N Zelaznik
1Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, 1353 Heavilon Hall, 500 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038, USA.
Insights
A subgroup of young children who stutter may have a motor timing deficit, impacting rhythmic clapping tasks. This timing issue, not coordination, may influence stuttering persistence or recovery.
Area of Science:
- Speech-language pathology
- Developmental neuroscience
- Motor control
Background:
- Stuttering is a complex disorder affecting speech fluency.
- Potential underlying causes include motor control deficits.
- Early identification of contributing factors is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate motor timing and coordination in young children who stutter.
- To determine if deficits are specific to timing or coordination.
Main Methods:
- Assessed rhythmic motor timing variability and between-hands coordination.
- 17 children who stutter (4-6 years) and 13 controls clapped to a metronome.
- Participants then produced 32 unpaced claps to maintain the target rate.
Main Results:
- Children who stutter showed significantly higher interclap interval variability.
- A subgroup (60%) exhibited timing variability exceeding controls.
- No significant differences in between-hands coordination were found.
Conclusions:
- A specific subgroup of young children who stutter presents with a nonspeech motor timing deficit.
- This motor timing deficit may be linked to stuttering persistence or recovery.
- Findings suggest a potential biomarker for identifying children at risk for persistent stuttering.
Purpose:
To determine whether young children who stutter have a basic motor timing and/or a coordination deficit.
Method:
Between-hands coordination and variability of rhythmic motor timing were assessed in 17 children who stutter (4-6 years of age) and 13 age-matched controls. Children clapped in rhythm with a metronome with a 600-ms interbeat interval and then attempted to continue to match this target rate for 32 unpaced claps.
Results:
Children who stutter did not significantly differ from children who were typically developing on mean clapping rate or number of usable trials produced; however, they produced remarkably higher variability levels of interclap interval. Of particular interest was the bimodal distribution of the stuttering children on clapping variability. One subgroup of children who stutter clustered within the normal range, but 60% of the children who stutter exhibited timing variability that was greater than the poorest performing nonstuttering child. Children who stutter were not more variable in measures of coordination between the 2 hands (mean and median phase difference between hands).
Conclusion:
We infer that there is a subgroup of young stuttering children who exhibit a nonspeech motor timing deficit, and we discuss this result as it pertains to recovery or persistence of stuttering.
