Speech
Conditions
Keywords
Speech Motor Learning, Retention
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.
Interventions
Non-invasive brain stimulation, evoked potentials and fMRI will be used to identify brain regions involved in speech motor learning and retention.
BEHAVIORALAdaptation
Auditory adaptation in speech
Sponsors
Yale University
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Healthy right-handed adults with normal hearing will be recruited in equal number from both sexes. All participants will be fluent English speakers.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
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
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTDavid Ostry
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDavid Ostry
Yale University
Outcome results
None listed