Date of Award
12-24-2025
Date Published
January 2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Advisor(s)
Victoria Tumanova
Keywords
emotional regulation;fluency disorders;inhibitory control;LF-HRV;RSA;stuttering
Abstract
Purpose: This study investigated whether preschool-aged children who stutter (CWS) differ from children who do not stutter (CWNS) in autonomic physiological reactivity and regulation during a phrase-repetition task paired with affective image-viewing conditions. Additionally, the study investigated whether individual differences in executive function skills, specifically inhibitory control, predicted variability in physiological responses across participants. Methods: Forty-three preschool-aged children (18 CWS, 25 CWNS) completed three laboratory visits that involved collection of electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings at rest and during a phrase-repetition task paired with visual stimuli of either neutral (fixation cross) or negative (IAPS) emotional valence. Inhibitory control was assessed using the NIH Toolbox Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test. ECG data were analyzed to derive heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and low-frequency heart rate variability (LF-HRV). Linear mixed-effects models tested group differences, condition effects, and predictive value of inhibitory control scores, controlling for age and baseline cardiac activity. Results: At rest, CWS showed marginally lower RSA and significantly lower LF-HRV than CWNS, while resting heart rate did not differ between the groups. During the phrase-repetition task, negative images did not elicit significant physiological changes for either group. Inhibitory control scores did not predict task-related heart rate, RSA, or LF-HRV. Conclusion: Preschool-aged CWS differed from CWNS in resting autonomic measures, but the groups did not differ in task-related physiological reactivity. Inhibitory control did not predict physiological responses. Although LF-HRV remains an emerging and debated metric for young children, the observed baseline difference suggests it may be worth examining in future studies. Overall, these findings underscore the relevance of baseline autonomic state and task demands when examining physiological aspects of emotional reactivity and regulation in preschool-aged children who stutter.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Meyerson, Dana J., "Resting Autonomic Activity, Emotional Reactivity, and Executive Function in Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter" (2025). Theses - ALL. 996.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/996
