Stuttering, Adult
Conditions
Keywords
stuttering, noninvasive treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation, eye tracking, EEG
Brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if repeated transcranial magnetic stimuli (rTMS) can treat stuttering in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Will there be changes in the brains of people who stutter because of the treatment? * Will any changes in the brain result in less stuttering? Participants will: * Visit the lab 3 times before treatment for tests * Complete 10 rTMS sessions * Visit the lab 2 times after treatment for tests
Detailed description
Measures must be obtained to in preparation for TMS treatment. Structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) recordings will be obtained from the participant, and they will undergo a neuronavigational session to determine best placement for the electrodes. MRI/rsfMRI recordings: The structural MRIs will be obtained and used for TMS neuronavigation. Resting-state functional MRI will be recorded for 8 min with the eyes open. rTMS will be delivered at 10 Hz for 10 min with a stimulation intensity of 120% of the resting motor threshold (rMT). Neuronavigation: The TMS coil will be navigated with a neuronavigation system using the individual MRIs. rTMS targets: rTMS will be delivered to the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). We will use the neuronavigation system to identify the IFG. Three pre-treatment and 2 post-treatment sessions will each obtain data from the following measurements: * rs-EEG: rs-EEG responses will be recorded with eyes open for 5 minutes using a 64-channel EEG system. * Eye tracker: eye gaze fixations, dwell time, saccades, and gaze durations will be recorded while the participant completes several behavioral phonological memory tasks. * Spontaneous speech sample will be obtained to determine percent syllables stuttered.
Interventions
DEVICETranscranial Magnetic Stimulation
This study uses Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) applied to specific speech and motor areas of the brain to stimulate cortical areas that experience reduced activations during left-hemisphere dominant tasks in people who stutter.
Sponsors
Kansas State University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Repeated measures, single subject design
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Age from 18 to 65 years * Self-identifies as a person who currently stutters * Right-handed or left-handed * Normal hearing and (corrected) vision * Able to understand and give informed consent * Monolingual English speaker
Exclusion criteria
* Cardiac pacemaker or pacemaker wires; neurostimulators; implanted pumps * Metal in the body (rods, plates, screws, shrapnel, dentures, IUD) or metallic particles in the eye * Facial tattoos * Not having medical insurance * Surgical clips in the head or previous neurosurgery * Any magnetic particles in the body * Cochlear implants * Prosthetic heart valves * Epilepsy or any other type of seizure history * History of significant head trauma (i.e., extended loss of consciousness, neurological sequelae) * Known structural brain lesions * Pre-existing speech, language, or neurological disorder (except for stuttering) * Significant other disease (heart disease, malignant tumors, mental disorders) * Significant claustrophobia; Ménière's disease * Women who are trying to get pregnant and sexually active women (of reproductive age) not on a reliable contraceptive * Pregnancy, breastfeeding * Medications increasing the risk for seizures * Non-prescribed drug use * Use of recreational drugs such as medical marijuana * Failure to perform the behavioral tasks or neuropsychological evaluation tests * Prisoners
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in functional connectivity with resting-state electroencephalography (rs-EEG) | Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment. | A seed-based functional connectivity analysis will be carried out between the two stimulated brain areas. To assess the changes in effective connectivity, the investigators will compare the seed-based connectivity values across sessions. |
| Changes in behavioral measures of stuttering and phonological processing. | Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment. | To assess functional changes as a result of rTMS treatment, comparison of eye tracking measurements of duration, dwell time, and number of fixations of eye movements while completing speech and language-based tasks are compared across sessions. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTKristin Pelczarski, Ph.D.
CONTACTJulio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORKristin Pelczarski, Ph.D.
Kansas State University
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORJulio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc
Kansas State University
Outcome results
None listed