Great question! >*"In your mind, how do we tune down \[or train\] the right amygdala’s sensitivity?"* Thank you! I appreciate the question and the thoughtful read. Simply put, I argue this is not primarily a fear-based problem. People who stutter can experience amygdala-driven approach–avoidance conflicts even when they are not consciously aware of fear. The amygdala can be responding to a web of subtle, learned cues related to social judgment or rejection that we interact with throughout daily life; cues that often never reach conscious awareness. A few concrete points to clarify the idea: * Adults regulate [speech plan ](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZkSc5ibIhkcxTmMcM-cRzkf3F1ORHro2/view?usp=sharing)execution differently than toddlers. As we grow we adopt more socially polished, “appropriate” speech execution regulation. That regulation itself is learned and monitored by the subconscious. Because we rarely speak without social context on a deeper level; the brain learns to gate execution more tightly to avoid perceived social errors. * That gating is not always driven by an intense, conscious “fear” (think “fear-of-a-lion”). Rather, it is better thought of as a protection or error-avoidance mechanism: a learned, adaptive response that prevents errors (e.g., inappropriate speech execution). Especially in situations where we feel comfortable, the subconscious can still run this protection mechanism and excessively suppress motor execution * Crucially, labeling these events simply as “fear responses” risks missing the point. The underlying process is protective and regulatory - adaptive in many contexts - but it becomes maladaptive when it triggers approach–avoidance conflict too often at times that we do not want to be silent (i.e., at times we block). So, I don’t think our goal should be to eliminate this underlying fear or protective response. That would be neither desirable nor adaptive. Because they are both healthy and adaptive during our daily life. Instead, the objective should be to **fine-tune when and how the subconscious gate is applied** — i.e., adjust the threshold at which an excessive error-avoidance response triggers a need to excessively regulate speech-plan execution, resulting in a suppression of (a segment of) the speech plan so the brain doesn’t react to every subtle social cue excessively (leading to mostly unnecessary stutters). So. To answer your question directly: 1. **We should not seek to remove the underlying protective response or fear; it’s adaptive and healthy.** 2. **We should aim to fine-tune the execution threshold** (which decides when the brain should execute the speech plan), so the subconscious permits motor execution in contexts where suppression is unnecessary *\~\~ "We should aim for refining the threshold regarding WHEN the brain should execute speech (rather than speaking without anticipatory fear). That is, if the goal is stuttering remission and subconscious fluency (over controlled fluency)" \~\~* *This is just my own take on it.* *Your thoughts?*