![stuttering song stuttering song](https://pics.me.me/before-two-ghosts-started-he-started-stuttering-you-could-tell-21090712.png)
For example, we both babble when learning vocalization skills at a young age-and both species can develop stuttering disorders. It turns out humans are a lot like these birds when it comes to making noises. He says no mammals "can do a good job of mimicking-and acting as proper models for studying-vocalizations." Songbirds could be the solution. "A challenge in the area of both motor and speech disorders is the development of appropriate animal models," says study co-author Andreas Pfenning, now a postdoctoral associate at MIT who specializes in genomics research. The study, published in December 2014 in the journal Science, suggests that songbirds and other vocal-learning animals could be used as potential models for examining the internal circuitry and brain regions associated with speech production and motor skills. They found that the birds exhibit "tens to hundreds" of genes related to vocalization that seem to match those in humans, including 50 genes from one brain region that appear to be responsible for vocal-learning abilities in both humans and birds. Scientists at Duke University spent six years studying the brain regions of vocal-learning birds-species such as songbirds and parrots that can learn to produce vocalizations by imitating sounds that they hear-and cross-referencing them with the human brain. But a recent study of birds may offer up a new model for researching and treating these problems. Some can overcome the impediment through speech therapy, but many will live their whole lives with the disorder.
![stuttering song stuttering song](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/bf3027ce-9693-45c4-bfa8-dad424bedee8_1.3a3c070875a8ba13325e978df24aac5c.jpeg)
![stuttering song stuttering song](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.imvdb.com/video/146705212005-fefe-dobson-stuttering_music_video_ov.jpg)
An estimated 7.5 million Americans show some difficulty in speaking, ranging from light stutters to severe language impairment, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.