The Foundation is turning its attention more and more to various facets of basic research. Brain Research Neuroimaging studies have greatly enhanced the potential to understand brain-behavior relationships in complex behaviors such as speech and language.
Projects are underway which seek to reveal more about how the brain functions in stuttering.
The Foundation is promoting this research in various ways. Genetic Research Finding the genes involved in stuttering and understanding what they do in people who stutter and in those who are normally fluent holds the promise of revealing some of the underlying causes of stuttering. From this, researchers hope to be able to develop better therapies for those who stutter. The Foundation is actively involved in a project directed by Dr. Dennis Drayna of the National Institute on Deafness and other Communicative Disorders to find genes that may be causing stuttering in families. How will it benefit people who stutter.