Behavioral and Neural Responses to External Alterations of Speech Variability

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Speech

Interventions: Behavioral: MEG/EEG
Behavioral: MRI
Behavioral: Speaking Tasks

Registration Number: NCT05286658

Lead Sponsor: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Brief Summary: The purpose of this research study is to understand how the brain processes and controls speech in healthy people. The investigators are doing this research because it will help identify the mechanisms that allow people to perceive their own speech errors and to learn new speech sounds, which may be applied to people who have communication disorders. 15 participants will be enrolled into this part of the study and can expect to be on study for 3-4 visits of 2-4 hours each.

Detailed Description: The overall study (Establishing the clinical utility of sensorimotor adaptation for speech rehabilitation) aims to understand how cognitive, perceptual, and motor processes are integrated in the control of speech movements. The investigators study how this complex skill is performed in healthy speakers to understand how this system functions, how this skill relates to the perception of speech, and what role different parts of the brain play in this process. Different studies look at how speech motor control is executed, maintained, and changed. Overall, the study will recruit 329 participants over the course of 5 years. Participants can expect to be on study for up to 3 weeks.

The entire study is composed of 8 experiments and 6 interventions. The present record represents the experiments involving magnetoencephalographic (MEG) imaging, i.e. Experiment 5: Behavioral and neural responses to external alterations of speech variability.

This paradigm modulates the perceived speech variability of participants through three different altered auditory feedback sessions: an inward-pushing feedback perturbation that decreases perceived variability by playing back participants' speech closer to the center of their vowel distributions, an outward-pushing feedback perturbation that increases perceived variability by playing back participants' speech farther from the center of their vowel distributions, and a normal feedback condition in which speech feedback is played back without perturbation. Participants will complete this paradigm during MEG imaging, which will noninvasively measure auditory cortical activity evoked during speech production and playback.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 17

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Native language other than English
Any neurological disorders other than the disorder of interest
Any history of hearing disorders
Uncorrected vision problems that prevent participants from seeing visually-presented stimuli
Significant cognitive impairments that prevent participants from carrying out the task or from giving informed consent
Vulnerable populations (minors and prisoners)
Additional exclusionary criteria if participating in neuroimaging:
- Implanted paramagnetic materials (metal clips, plates, pacemakers, etc.)
- Head too large for MEG recording helmet
- Claustrophobia or intolerance of MRI scanner noise
- Low signal to noise ratio in pilot MEG recordings
- High levels of artifacts (eye-blinks, etc.)
- Inability to produce the speech sounds proposed with minimal movement
- Left-handedness
Additional exclusionary criteria if participating in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS):
- Implanted paramagnetic materials (metal clips, plates, pacemakers, etc.)
- Increased risk in the event of a seizure
- Serious heart disease
- Increased intracranial pressure
- Pregnancy
- History of seizures
- Family history of epilepsy
- Epileptogenic medications
- Chronic or transient disruption of sleep (including jet lag)
- History of fainting
- Chronic or transient increase in stressful experiences
- Use of illegal drugs

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Healthy Adult Speakers	MRI	healthy adult participants across the lifespan in three groups:18-35, 36-55, and 56+
Healthy Adult Speakers	MEG/EEG	healthy adult participants across the lifespan in three groups:18-35, 36-55, and 56+
Healthy Adult Speakers	Speaking Tasks	healthy adult participants across the lifespan in three groups:18-35, 36-55, and 56+

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Speaking-Induced Suppression (SIS) Change, Defined as the Percent Change of SIS (the Z-score Difference in Average M100 Amplitude in the Speak Condition Compared With the Listen Condition) From Baseline to Test Phases	Data were collected over 3 individual hour-long MEG sessions over 3 weeks (pre-test vs. post-test compared within the same session).	The dependent measure is the speaking-induced suppression (SIS) defined as the z-score difference in average M100 amplitude in the speak condition compared with the listen condition. The M100 peak is defined as the peak activity between 75 and 150 ms after stimulus onset; peaks will be confirmed by visual inspection. The percent change in this SIS from the pre-test (baseline phase at the beginning of the MEG scan) to the post-test (test phase at the end of the MEG scan) is evaluated for each of three visits: "in", "out", and "control".

Secondary Outcome Measures