Brain Stimulation for Speech Disorders
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
This study aims to understand how people use different types of feedback to control their speech. When an individual speaks, the brain relies on several systems at the same time, such as sensory systems that monitor an individuals own voice and the movements of their speech muscles, and a motor system that builds and reads out learned motor patterns. The investigators are studying how these systems work together and how they differ across individuals.
Investigators will test 90 adults between 18 and 50 years old, including people who stutter, people with dyslexia, and people with typical speech and reading development. Participants will complete several short speech tasks in which the sounds they hear or the movements of their jaw or larynx are briefly changed. These responses will be used to measure each person's speech motor skills and to estimate the settings of a computer model called "SimpleDIVA," which simulates how the brain controls speech.
Participants will also complete an MRI scan so investigators can measure the structure and connectivity of different brain regions. These measures will help investigators understand how individual differences in the brain relate to the speech motor control skills we observe. Participants will also complete sessions with noninvasive brain stimulation (transcranial current stimulation, or tCS) to examine how stimulation of specific areas of the brain affects responses during the speech tasks.
The knowledge gained from this study will help researchers understand why speech motor skills vary across people and how differences in neural function may contribute to conditions such as stuttering and dyslexia.
Who Is on the Research Team?
Frank H Guenther, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Boston University
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
Inclusion Criteria
Timeline for a Trial Participant
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
Baseline Assessment
Participants complete baseline assessments including stuttering severity, dyslexia severity, intelligence, and vocabulary tests
Speech Task and MRI
Participants complete speech tasks with auditory and somatosensory perturbations and undergo MRI scans to measure brain structure and connectivity
tCS Stimulation Sessions
Participants undergo transcranial current stimulation targeting specific brain regions and complete speech tasks during stimulation
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for any changes in speech motor skills and brain connectivity post-intervention
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Interventions
- Reflexive somatosensory perturbation
- Sustained F0 auditory feedback perturbation
- Sustained F1 auditory feedback perturbation
- Unpredictable auditory feedback perturbation
How Is the Trial Designed?
2
Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Participants in Arm 1 will complete all behavioral, MRI, and tCS study procedures. During the tCS portion of the study, they will receive anodal transcranial current stimulation (tCS) targeting two brain regions: posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) in one stimulation session and ventral somatosensory cortex (vSSC) in another. In a third session, they will complete the same speech task while receiving sham stimulation targeting either pSTG or vSSC. All participants in this arm will also complete speech motor control tasks involving unpredictable auditory perturbations, sustained auditory perturbations, and somatosensory perturbations, as well as one MRI session.
Participants in Arm 2 will complete all behavioral, MRI, and tCS study procedures. During the tCS portion of the study, they will receive anodal transcranial current stimulation (tCS) targeting left ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) in one stimulation session and right vPMC in another. In a third session, they will complete the same speech task while receiving sham stimulation targeting either the left or right vPMC. All participants in this arm will also complete speech motor control tasks involving unpredictable auditory perturbations, sustained auditory perturbations, and somatosensory perturbations, as well as one MRI session.
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Boston University Charles River Campus
Lead Sponsor
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Collaborator
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