>*"Neurophysiological basis + Negative emotions > impaired behavioral patterns until the aversive stimulus is reduced or reaches a tolerable level."* Yes exactly, that makes a lot of sense to me. I'd personally use the term "conditioned stimulus" instead of "negative emotions" since it captures how our responses are linked (thru learning) in response to negative emotions resulting in a fear-panic reflex response, rather than just emotionally driven. To me, it seems like, right before we start speaking, our subconscious scans for incoming stimuli (such as positive and negative emotions) and evaluates them. If we perceive the stimulus (negative emotions, in your terms) as something we can’t tolerate in that moment, it might trigger a conditioned reflex response I think—almost like a reflexive freeze response. And to clarify, I don’t mean a physical freezing of speech muscles, but rather a fear-panic response that disrupts the automatic processes required for fluent speech. If this is the case and true, then the key question is: **What exactly is this conditioned reflex?** (that disrupts the automatic processes) Or put another way: **What is the freeze response that happens right before we stutter?** Ultimately, I do believe this learned reflex is an unconditioned response. For example, if a mother walks away from her baby, the baby may start crying and then he stops crying once she returns. This suggests, to me at least, that at a fundamental level, human DNA may be coded to "prevent oneself from executing communication in response to fear of social rejection" (unconditioned response) before any learning takes place. What if this reflex response is excessively malfunctioning in stutterers? Your thoughts?