Animal Models Provide Greater Understanding Into the Neurobiology of Stuttering

CONFERENCE REPORTER

At the STARS (Stuttering Treatment and Research Society) Inaugural Education and Research Conference, Shahriar SheikhBahaei, PhD, assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior at SUNY Stony Brook University, described how animal models are transforming research into the disorder and opening pathways toward potential new treatments.¹

“In my lab we are using animal model to study stuttering at the cellular and circuit level,” SheikhBahaei told Psychiatric Times in an exclusive interview. While speech itself is uniquely human, he emphasized that “because of this existing of same similar behavior, similar circuits in the brain between human and an animal model…using those animal models could help us understand this disorder at the cellular and circuit level.”

His team’s work has already identified disruptions in breathing-related processes. “Our data, for example, provided evidence that respiratory behavior is disorganized in our animal model,” he explained. Researchers in the lab have developed methods “to make the respiratory system function in a more organized way with the other circuits,” he said. “These types of treatment, show promising results both in animals and humans as well,” SheikhBahaei said.

Beyond testing therapies, animal models allow unprecedented access to neural activity. “We can visualize cells like astrocytes that are electrically silent. And with the current imaging system it’s impossible to look at their function online and how they modulate the activity of neuronal circuit,” he noted. The animal model approach provides “a window to look at the function at the cellular level, circuit level, and behavioral level.”

SheikhBahaei’s commitment to the field is also personal. “As a person who stutters, speaking is always a challenging task for me,” he shared. “Every career decision that I made was based on this goal to know more about the disorder and also research to finding a treatment or a way that we can help people who stutter.”

Early work convinced him of the critical need for better models. He recognized “animal models were lacking in this field, and we would need novel animal models with human quality vocal repertoire that could help us understand this disorder at the cellular and circuit level,” he said.

Today, he sees progress. “With availability of animal model and artificial intelligence and big data, we are in a strong position to know more about this disorder at the fundamental level and generate treatments for this condition.”

Reference

1. SheikhBahaei S. A Neurobiologic Understanding of Stuttering. Presented at STARS Inaugural Education and Research Conference; Dana Point, California; September 13, 2025.