title: Reaction time for /s/ and /z/ in stutterers and nonstutterers: a test of discoordination hypothesis.
abstract: In an attempt to test the hypothesis that stuttering is the result of discoordination between phonation and articulation, 10 adult stutterers and 10 adult nonstutterers were asked to produce prolonged versions of /z/ and /s/ sounds, as quickly as possible, in response to tone stimuli. It was hypothesized that stutterers would exhibit significantly longer reaction time (RT) for the /z/, a voiced sound, than would a similar group of nonstutterers, whereas the two groups would not differ in RT for the /s/ sound, the unvoiced counterpart of /z/. The results showed that stutterers as a group did not differ from nonstutterers in RT for either the /z/ of the /s/ sound. However, it was found that severe stutterers exhibited significantly longer RTs for the /z/ sound than did mild stutterers. There were no differences between severe and mild stutterers in RT for the /s/ sound.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010699:Phonation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012119:Respiration; D013062:Speech Articulation Tests; D013342:Stuttering / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000150:complications*