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From: Dennis Drayna
Date: 13 Oct 2005
Time: 12:07:02 -0500
Remote Name: 165.112.46.123
Hi Kelly, You've touched upon one of the most hotly-debated topics in stuttering research. Our studies are limited to persistent stuttering, and as such they address recovery only indirectly. To put it more precisely, our studies seek to identify the genetic factors that underlie persistent stuttering. The reason for doing this is imposed on us by the limitations of genetics. For example, when someone in a family full of stutterers does not stutter, it could be a) because they did not inherit the gene, or b) because they did inherit the gene and they have recovered. This difficult problem is addressed by enrolling only those who stutter in such families. If and when we find gene alterations associated is persistent stuttering, we'll be able to directly ask questions about the role of those alterations in individuals who recover.