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HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

Sec. Speech and Language

Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1498423

This article is part of the Research Topic New Perspectives on the Role of Sensory Feedback in Speech Production: Volume II View all 4 articles

An Active Inference Account of Stuttering Behavior

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 University of Delaware, Newark, United States
  • 2 Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper presents an interpretation of stuttering behavior, based on the principles of the active inference framework. Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by speech disfluencies such as repetitions, prolongations, and blocks. The principles of active inference, a theory of predictive processing and sentient behavior, can be used to conceptualize stuttering as a disruption in perception-action cycling underlying speech production. The theory proposed here posits that stuttering arises from aberrant sensory precision and prediction error dynamics, inhibiting syllable initiation. Relevant to this theory, two hypothesized mechanisms are proposed: 1) a mistiming in precision dynamics, and 2) excessive attentional focus. Both highlight the role of neural oscillations, prediction error, and hierarchical integration in speech production. This framework also explains the contextual variability of stuttering behaviors, including adaptation effects and fluency-inducing conditions. Reframing stuttering as a synaptopathy integrates neurobiological, psychological, and behavioral dimensions, suggesting disruptions in precision-weighting mediated by neuromodulatory systems. This active inference perspective provides a unified account of stuttering and sets the stage for innovative research and therapeutic approaches.

    Keywords: Stuttering, active inference, fluency, speech production, disfluency

    Received: 18 Sep 2024; Accepted: 17 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Usler. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Evan R. Usler, University of Delaware, Newark, United States

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