Speech Motor Learning and Retention (Aim 1)

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Speech

• Registration Number: NCT06467305
• Lead Sponsor: Yale University

Brief Summary

The overall goal of this research is to test a new model of speech motor learning, whose central hypothesis is that learning and retention are associated with plasticity not only in motor areas of the brain but in auditory and somatosensory regions as well. The strategy for the proposed research is to identify individual brain areas that contribute causally to retention by disrupting their activity with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Investigators will also use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which will enable identification of circuit-level activity which predicts either learning or retention of new movements, and hence test the specific contributions of candidate sensory and motor zones. In other studies, investigators will record sensory and motor evoked potentials over the course of learning to determine the temporal order in which individual sensory and cortical motor regions contribute. The goal here is to identify brain areas in which learning-related plasticity occurs first and which among these areas predict subsequent learning.

Detailed Description

The focus of this registration is Aim 1. The work in Specific Aim 1 involves tests of speech motor memory retention following disruption of left hemisphere brain activity in either auditory, somatosensory or motor cortex or to a control site (hand area motor cortex right hemisphere). Continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) is delivered following adaptation to altered auditory feedback to assess its effects on the retention of new learning. In the adaptation task, participants read Harvard Sentences aloud, which are presented on a computer monitor. Vocal output is altered in real-time and played back to participants through headphones. Tests of retention are conducted 24 hours later.

The Speech Motor Learning and Retention Master Protocol has uniqueID 2000037622.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2024-06-13
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-06-13
• Study First Posted: 2024-06-21
• Study Start: 2024-10-01
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-11
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-16
• Primary Completion: 2028-11-30
• Study Completion: 2029-05-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 160

Inclusion Criteria

• Fluent English speakers
• Right-handed
• Normal hearing
• No speech disorder or reading disability

Exclusion Criteria

• Cardiac pacemaker
• Aneurysm clip
• Heart or Vascular clip
• Prosthetic valve
• Metal implants
• Metal in brain, skull, or spinal cord
• Implanted neurostimulator
• Medication infusion device
• Cochlear implant or tinnitus (ringing in ears)
• Personal and/or family history of epilepsy or other neurological disorders or history of head concussion
• Psychoactive medications
• Pregnancy

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Speech motor learning	Performance as measured at the end of learning (30 minute session)	Audapter software will be used to alter the first and second formant frequencies of the spoken words and this is played back to subjects through headphones. Subjects will be tested both with unaltered feedback and with abruptly introduced frequency shifts.The change in the first (F1) and second format frequency (F2) values will be assessed using Praat.
Retention of learning	24 hours after learning (re-test lasts 30 minutes)	The retention of adaptation to altered auditory feedback (and relearning) will be quantified in terms of F1 and F2 frequency shifts (relative to pre-training baseline). Larger values indicate more complete relearning or retention.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Yale Child Study Center; 🇺🇸 New Haven, Connecticut, United States