Weak vestibular response in persistent developmental stuttering and implications for own voice identification

Abstract

Speech-motor and psycholinguistic models employ feedback control from an auditory stream corresponding to own voice. Such models underspecify how own voice is identified. It is proposed that own voice is identified through coincidence detection between the neural firing rates arising from deflection of cochlear and vestibular mechanoreceptors by the sound and vibration generated during vocalisation. The coincidence detection is proposed to differ in people who stutter. In an update to the approach-avoidance conflict model of Sheehan (1953, 1975) instances of stuttering are proposed to coincide with uncertainty over an ongoing speech act. Discussion covers speech-induced suppression, auditory scene analysis, and theories of mental content.