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From: Nathan Lavid, M.D.
Date: 06 Oct 2005
Time: 09:57:12 -0500
Remote Name: 71.107.205.117
Hello Niklaus, I believe you are referring to the paper I have presented. I have not presented the conclusion you cite, but I can address your questions. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a molecule involved with the transfer of electrical impulses between brain cells. Communication within the brain is modulated by the activity of a variety of neurotransmitters in a manner that is much more complicated than what I have presented. As the activity of dopamine pertains to stuttering, medications that increase dopamine in the brain exacerbate or induce stuttering speech. All that one can deduce from this observation is that dopamine plays a role in stuttering speech. By no means can one offer a conclusion that increased dopamine causes stuttering – it’s just a participant in the condition. The etiology of stuttering is more complicated than simply referring to levels of neurotransmitters and is unknown at this time. As for your concerns regarding emotions or distress, dopamine is not one of the primary neurotransmitters that mediate anxiety. Other neurotransmitters are involved in anxiety. Anxiety is the most prevalent emotion correlated with stuttering, so I would not assume that increased levels of dopamine are a result of emotions or distress. Moreover, one does not have to have emotional distress to suffer from stuttering. A double-blind placebo controlled trial does take into account your concern of expectations of relief. The placebo effect is subtracted during the analysis of the data.