NCT05668923 · University of Pittsburgh
Speech Signals in Stuttering
What this study is about
The purpose of this research study is to understand how speech and language are processed in the brain. This study will provide information that may help with the understanding how speech and language are processed in children and whether there may be differences between children who stutter and children who do not stutter.
View original scientific description
The purpose of this research study is to understand how speech and language are processed in the brain. This study will provide information that may help with the understanding how speech and language are processed in children and whether there may be differences between children who stutter and children who do not stutter. This project will evaluate these neural processes for speech signals in children who stutter and control subjects through a battery of behavioral speech and language tests, electroencephalography-based (EEG) tasks, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and computational modeling.
Interventions
BEHAVIORAL
Speech sound stimulation
Behavioral-, electrophysiological-, and magnetic resonance imaging-based speech sound testing
Primary outcome measures
Speech Sound Identification
Time frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours)
Behavioral responses will be measured for the syllable identification task in quiet and in the presence of background noise. Children will respond as quickly as possible to identify which speech sound they heard. Within and between group analyses will be conducted between children who stutter and control subjects. Drift diffusion models (DDMs) will be used to aggregate the behavioral responses of accuracy and reaction time to evaluate bias toward more accurate or faster responses as well as change in response behaviors over time in each group.
Frequency Following Responses (EEG)
Time frame: 1 Session (up to 30 minutes)
Frequency following responses (FFRs) will be collected and used to quantify neural encoding of fast temporal cues in auditory stimuli, including speech sounds. FFRs (70-1500 Hz) will be elicited by syllables. FFRs will be elicited in quiet conditions and in the presence of a competing background story. FFRs will be measured for magnitude. Decoding of FFRs elicited by syllables using support vector machine classifiers will be analyzed. Within and between group analyses will be conducted between children who stutter and control subjects.
Temporal Response Functions (EEG)
Time frame: 1 Session (up to 1 hour)
Temporal response function (TRFs) analysis directly compares a continuously varying stimulus, such as continuous speech, to EEG data. The relationship between the continuous speech and EEG signals will be estimated as a continuous wave describing how a change in a continuous speech feature relates to changes in the EEG signal. The EEG data predicted by the TRF are compared to the real, observed EEG data via correlation, resulting in a measure of fitness (Pearson's r) for how well the stimulus explains the observed neural activity. Multivariate linear ridge regression using leave-one-out-cross validation method, to prevent over-fitting the data, will be utilized to compare the predicted and obtained EEG. Higher correlations between the predicted and obtained EEG reflect better cortical encoding of the speech envelope. Within and between group analyses will be conducted between children who stutter and control subjects.
Blood-oxygen level dependent activation (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
Time frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours)
Brain activation patterns indexed by blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI signals will be analyzed. BOLD responses will be estimated separately for each participant for each functional task. Study-level outcomes include main effects of group (children who stutter vs. controls), group by region interactions, and group by network (auditory, speech motor, and attention) interactions. Drift diffusion models (DDMs) will be used to aggregate the behavioral responses of accuracy and reaction time (e.g. during the categorization the sounds such as /ba/ or /da/) to evaluate bias toward more accurate or faster responses as well as change in response behaviors over time in each group.
Multi-voxel pattern analysis (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
Time frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours)
Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) is a machine learning analysis technique that aims to quantify spatially distributed neural representations across ensembles of voxels. MVPA will be used to determine the neural activity patterns that contain predictive information about the syllables (e.g. /ba/, da/) in the tasks in quiet and with background noise. Extracted BOLD parameter estimates for each syllable will be entered into the analysis. Participant specific classification cross-validation accuracies (per pre-determined regions of interest) will be contrasted between conditions to determine regions of interest in which representations are enhanced or degraded by increasing task demands. Regions with significant group-level classification accuracies in each task, as well as regions of interest showing task-dependent changes in classification accuracies, will be established by permutation testing for each region of interest for each participant.
Psychophysiological Interactions
Time frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours)
Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses evaluate task-dependent interactions between brain regions. Each pre-determined region of interest will serve as a seed region. For each target region (all other regions of interest), a general linear model will be used to estimate the interaction of task-related hemodynamic effects and the effects that are linearly related to the time-series of the seed region. Significant interactions reflect regions for which the effective connectivity with the seed-region changes as a function of task condition (i.e., indicating regions that are preferentially coupled for a specific task). Study-level outcomes will assess main effects of group (children who stutter vs controls), group by region interactions, and group by network (auditory, speech motor, attention) interactions.
Who can participate
This study lists these criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov. A study coordinator reviews eligibility during screening — this page does not determine whether you qualify.
Inclusion criteria
- Speaks English as primary language
- Language abilities within the typical range
- Cognitive abilities within the typical range
- No contraindications for MRI Inclusion criteria for children who stutter:
- Presence of developmental stuttering (onset in childhood)
- No history of other communication disorder Inclusion criteria for children who do not stutter:
- No family history of stuttering
- No history of other communication disorders (e.g., hearing impairment, language impairment, cognitive impairment/injury)
Exclusion criteria
- Taking medication that alters neural function
- Cognitive skills below the typical range
- Major medical illness
- Not a fluent speaker of English
- Pregnant or possibly pregnant
- Metal implants in your body (including pacemakers, neurostimulators, or other metal objects)
- Shrapnel injuries
- Ocular foreign bodies (e.g., metal shavings)
- Metal piercings that cannot be removed for the scan
- Tattoos containing iron or metal pigments
- Prone to claustrophobia
- For fMRI, those with head circumference greater than 60cm or whose weight is more than 300 pounds will be excluded due to the size of the fMRI magnet bore
Where
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Collaborators
University of Michigan, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), Northwestern University
Related conditions & keywords
Frequently asked questions
What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial is a research study that tests new medical treatments, drugs, devices, or procedures to determine their safety and effectiveness. Trials are carefully designed and monitored to protect participants while advancing medical knowledge.
Is it safe to participate?
Clinical trials follow strict safety guidelines and ethical standards. Trials must be reviewed and approved, and participants are closely monitored by medical professionals throughout the study. You can withdraw at any time if you choose.
Will I be compensated?
Many clinical trials offer compensation for your time, travel expenses, and inconvenience. The specific compensation varies by study and will be discussed during the screening process. All study-related medical care is typically provided at no cost to participants.
Will I receive a placebo instead of treatment?
When effective treatment exists, participants typically receive either the standard treatment plus the study intervention, or the standard treatment plus placebo. You would not be denied effective care. Placebos are primarily used when no proven treatment is available, or in addition to standard care. Your trial consent form will clearly explain what treatments you may receive.
Can I leave a trial if I change my mind?
Absolutely. Participation in clinical trials is completely voluntary. You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time, for any reason, without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.
How long does a clinical trial last?
Trial duration varies widely depending on the study design and purpose. Some trials last just a few weeks, while others may continue for months or years. The study coordinator will provide specific timeline information during your screening call.
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov · synced Sep 15, 2025 · Source of record for eligibility and locations