Brain and Voice Signatures in Teachers
- Conditions
- Voice DisordersVoice Fatigue
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Stress induction
- Registration Number
- NCT06126627
- Lead Sponsor
- University Hospital, Bonn
- Brief Summary
Primary muscle tension dysphonia voice disorder with symptoms of vocal strain and vocal fatigue is common and can have a significant negative impact on quality of Life. Yet, primary muscle tension dysphonia's causes are unknown precluding precise diagnostic classification. Stress and personality are thought to play a role and thus, the project aims to determine the practical and clinical effect of stress on the control of voice and speech in the brain. Participants are female early career teachers and student teachers with symptoms of vocal fatigue, as well as control participants without vocal fatigue, who perform speech tasks on two different occasions. Neural (imaging of brain), psychobiological (saliva, personality), and voice and speech (muscle activity of voice muscles on the neck with surface sensors, audio recordings) data will compare reactivity patterns of teachers who are stressresponders with those who are nonresponders as well as control participants. The central hypothesis is that voice box stress responders have heightened emotion-motor activations involving the emotional voice production pathway, which correlate with changes in voice muscle activity in the anterior neck. The results will provide fundamentally missing data in our understanding of the role of stress in vocal complaints and will yield new insights about the neural underpinnings of primary muscle tension dysphonia. The study findings will have a significant impact on how clinicians identify so-called laryngoresponders to help them prevent voice disorders.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- Female
- Target Recruitment
- 100
Teachers (max. 10 years full-time) or student teachers in good health between 21 and 39 years with symptoms of vocal fatigue.
Control participants in good health between 21 and 39 years without symptoms of vocal fatigue.
- Lefthandedness
- Smoking (past 5 years)
- Known changes of the vocal folds (e.g., vocal fold nodules), vocal fold paralysis, surgeries on the larynx or thryoid or current organic or neurological changes of the vocal folds or vocal function per videoendoscopy and -stroboscopy of the larynx
- History of voice therapy
- Hoarseness
- Respiratory illness, allergies (respiratory, silver), reflux or asthma at time of participation
- Hearing disorder or hearing aids
- Psychological, neurological or endocrinological disorders
- Psychotropic or steorid medications
- Body mass index > 30
- Indications against MRI such as metail parts in or on the body (e.g., permanent dental prostheses or braces, screws, prostheses, piercings or large tattoos
- Nearsightedness > -5 diopters, if only glasses are worn
- Claustrophobia
- Pregnancy
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Teachers/student teachers with vocal fatigue Stress induction Teachers/student teachers with vocal fatigue based on Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI, German). Pre-Screening and Screening. Experiment 1: MRI with MRI-compatible surface electrodes on the neck and audio recordings during MRI with and without stress induction. Prior to MRI, questionnaires on voice, personality, and stress and practice oft the tasks. During experiment, collection of saliva samples (before, during, and after MRI). During MRI, multiple subjective ratings of emotional state by the participants. Experiment 2 (approximately 2 weeks later): Speech tasks with surface electromyographic sensors applied to the neck with concurrent audio recordings. Prior to the experiment questionnaires on voice and practice of tasks. Subjective ratings of vocal and cognitive effort during the experiment by the participants. Control group Stress induction Control participants without vocal fatigue based on Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI, German). Same experimental procedures as in arm 1.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Personality, Stress Reaction through study completion, an average of 1 month Personality trait Stress Reaction (T-scores, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, MPQ)
Infrahyoid muscle activity through study completion, an average of 1 month Infrahyoid muscle activity (RMS)
Salivary cortisol through study completion, an average of 1 month Salivary cortisol (nmol/L) to determine stressresponders and nonresponders
Personality, social anxiety through study completion, an average of 1 month Personality trait social anxiety (T-scores, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, LSAS-fear)
Suprahyoid muscle activity through study completion, an average of 1 month Suprahyoid muscle activity (RMS)
Personality, Social Potency through study completion, an average of 1 month Personality trait Social Potency (T-scores, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, MPQ)
Vocal fatigue through study completion, an average of 1 month Raw scores, Vocal Fatigue Index, VFI Factor 1
BOLD MRI area 4p through study completion, an average of 1 month MRI activation in regions of interest (BOLD area 4p in mean %) as a function of speech tasks with and without stress induction
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Personality, Wellbeing through study completion, an average of 1 month Personality trait Wellbeing (T-scores, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, MPQ)
BOLD MRI Amygdala through study completion, an average of 1 month MRI activation in regions of interest (BOLD area Amygdala in mean %) as a function of speech tasks with and without stress induction
Personality, Social Closeness through study completion, an average of 1 month Personality trait Social Closeness (T-scores, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, MPQ)
Personality, social anxiety through study completion, an average of 1 month Personality trait social anxiety (T-scores, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, LSAS-total)
Perceived vocal effort through study completion, an average of 1 month Perceived vocal effort (raw data, BORG-CR-10)
Voice quality of life through study completion, an average of 1 month Raw data, Voice Handicap Index, VHI
Vocal tract discomfort through study completion, an average of 1 month Raw data, Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale, VTD
BOLD MRI SMA through study completion, an average of 1 month MRI activation in regions of interest (BOLD area SMA in mean %) as a function of speech tasks with and without stress induction
Personality, self-esteem through study completion, an average of 1 month Personality self-esteem (raw data, Rosenberg self-esteem scale)
Handedness through study completion, an average of 1 month Handedness (raw data, Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, EHI)
Voice quality, relative fundamental frequency through study completion, an average of 1 month Voice quality, relative fundamental frequency (relative fundamental frequency, RFF in semitones \[ST\])
Vocal fatigue through study completion, an average of 1 month Raw scores, Vocal Fatigue Index, VFI Factor 2 and 3
Informal questionnaire on vocal health through study completion, an average of 1 month Raw data informal questionnaire on vocal health
BOLD MRI MCC through study completion, an average of 1 month MRI activation in regions of interest (BOLD area MCC in mean %) as a function of speech tasks with and without stress induction
State positive and negative affect through study completion, an average of 1 month State positive and negative affect (raw data, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, PANAS)
Voice quality, cepstral-spectral analysis through study completion, an average of 1 month Voice quality, cepstral-spectral analysis (cepstral peak prominence in dB)
BOLD MRI ACC through study completion, an average of 1 month MRI activation in regions of interest (BOLD area ACC in mean %) as a function of speech tasks with and without stress induction
BOLD MRI PAG through study completion, an average of 1 month MRI activation in regions of interest (BOLD area PAG in mean %) as a function of speech tasks with and without stress induction
Behavioral inhibition and exhibition through study completion, an average of 1 month Behavioral inhibition and exhibition (raw data, BIS/BAS scales, BIS subscale)
Chronic Stress through study completion, an average of 1 month Chronic stress (T-scores, Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress, TICS)
Cognitive effort through study completion, an average of 1 month Cognitive effort (raw data, NASA-TLX)
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
University Hospital Bonn
🇩🇪Bonn, Germany