Jäncke, L. (1991) The 'audio-phonatoric coupling' in stuttering and nonstuttering adults: Experimental contributions. In H.F.M. Peters, A. Hulstijn & C.W. Starkweather (Hrsg.), Speech Motor Control and Stuttering. 171-180. Amsterdam: Elsevier Scientific Publishers.
Abstract
In two experiments the effect of auditory feedback on speech flow control was studied. Nonstutterers and aditionally moderate and severe stutterers had to speak the testword /tatatas/ with stress on the first or second syllable. during randomly selected speech trials (20%) of all trials the auditory feedback of the speech signal was (1) delayed for 40ms (DAF), or (2) only the auditory feedback of the first syllable vowel was delayed (triggered DAF), or (3) the auditory feedback of the first syllable vowel was prematured for about 25ms (triggered PAF). The feedback manipulations were applied in a way which could neither be noticed nor anticipated. Under DAF, triggered DAF and triggered PAF, normal subjects exhibits prolongued/shortened vowel durations in the stressed syllable, whereas the unstressed syllables remain unchanged. Stutterers show the same lenghtening-shortening of the stressed vowel durations, but the effedts are much greater and extend to the unstressed syllables too. Furthermore, severe stutterers show stronger effects than moderate stutterers. Findings are interpreted as caused by a 'reflex-like' audio-phonatoric coupling (APC) which is normally strengthened in the stressed and weakened in the unstressed syllables of the speech flow. Concerning APC, stutterers seem to hapve a stronger audio-phonatoric coupling than nonstutterers. Further implications concerning theory of stuttering will be presented in the Chapter of Kalveram in this book.

---

Back