Sympathetic-Vagal Balance, Attention Regulation, and Adults who Stutter: Preliminary Findings

The present study examined the ability to regulate attention as a possible contributor to stuttering. Four adults who stuttered (AWS) and four adults who did not stutter (AWNS) had their ECG signals recorded during three tasks: passively viewing a film clip, reading rapidly-scrolling text, and responding during a Go/NoGo task. Attention regulation was defined as the ability to release vagal influence on the heart, as indexed by increases in sympathetic-vagal balance (SVB). Results indicated that from viewing the film to reading the text, SVB increased for 25% of AWNS and 50% of AWS. On the Go/NoGo task, AWNS exhibited faster response times (455 ms) than AWS (611 ms), with RTs being negatively related to SVB. Results suggest that AWS utilize relatively more resources for attention regulation, which, during speaking, may lead to communicative performance decrements.