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From: Ken St. Louis
Date: 10/6/01
Time: 1:48:05 PM
Remote Name: 134.29.30.167
Hi Jack,
You bring up a difficult subject: the extent to which stuttering might be related to seizures. Your own experience is important. In your case, there probably is a connection.
Yet, in the general population of stutterers, the link between epilepsy (or brain damage in general) and stuttering is not well documented. I did consult Bloodstein's HANDBOOK ON STUTTERING and noted a few early studies that showed a higher prevalence of stuttering among epileptic patients than the general population. There are numerous case study resports like yours in the literature which suggest a link. In the 1950s Robert West wrote about his "perseverative" theory of stuttering and in it he postulated that stuttering is a convulsive phenomenon. He highlighted the similarity of stuttering to a childhood seizure disorder known as "pyknolepsy," a disorder that begins from ages 4-10 years and is characterized by momentary seizures (not preceded by auras) that occur up to 100 times daily. Honestly, I don't think there is any solid data to support this theory.
We know that stuttering can occur in specific cases from verifiable damage to many parts of the brain. We also know that stuttering is conspicuously absent after damage to those same parts of the brain in most neurogenic patients. Where does that leave us? I don't know. Nevertheless, research on brain function and stuttering that is being carried out in various sites around the USA, Canada, and elsewhere may well lead us to better theories of how the brain functions or malfunctions during stuttering. Until then, we can only speculate.
Good question. It caused me to go back and look up some of my old library research.
Ken