The Stop-Start Brain: What we know about stuttering and what we can learn from people who stutter
Kate Watkins, Jonathan Brooks
Wednesday, 11 February 2026, 12pm to 1pm
Hybrid via Teams or in-person in the Gelder room, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Ln, Headington, Oxford OX3 7JX
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The Stop-Start Brain: what we know about stuttering and what we can learn from people who stutter
Kate Watkins and her research group use brain imaging and brain stimulation to understand how the brain achieves the remarkable feat of communication using speech and language. One of the groups research areas focuses on stuttering (aka stammering), which affects 5-8% of children and at least 1% of adults. The research group has identified differences in brain structure and connectivity in people who stutter and differences in brain function during stuttered speech. The group also completed the first randomised controlled trial of brain stimulation alongside fluency training to enhance fluency in adults who stutter.
Jonathan is a DPhil student at St. Anne's College currently pursuing a DPhil in the Philosophy of Psychiatry with a particular focus on stammering. As someone with lived experience of stammering disorder, his research has personal significance beyond his academic interest in mental health.