Comparison of Working Memory Abilities in Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter

Abstract

Introduction: Adults with stuttering (AWS) exhibit longer reading rates and poor nonword recognition. This is attributed to deficits in phonological working memory abilities specific to language disturbances. In the present investigation, working memory abilities of AWS was investigated using n-back test which is not sensitive to subtle language deficits. Methods: Participants included nine AWS in the age range of 18–26 years, and nine age, gender, and language-matched adults who do not stutter. The participants performed auditory 1- and 2-back tasks, where they pressed a button whenever the same syllable was heard as the one and two syllables before, respectively. The reaction time, accuracy, false alarm rate, and d prime (difference in z-scores of hit rate and false alarm rate) were calculated for an individual participant in each n-back condition. Results: Results revealed significant difference between two groups only during 2-back task. Analysis showed that AWS had more false alarms, which might have resulted because of the anxiety in responding, due to increased attentional demands, which is in turn reflected as working memory deficits during the difficult task. Conclusion: The present results provide preliminary evidence for auditory working memory deficits in persons who stutter.