Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

University of Pittsburgh

Code:

NCT05668923

Conditions

Stuttering, Childhood

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 5 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Speech sound stimulation

Study Details

Brief summary:

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.

Conditions

Stuttering, Childhood

Study ID

NCT05668923

Start date

Sep 21, 2022

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Dec, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 5 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

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

Study Design

Enrollment

600 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Speech sound stimulation

Speech sound stimulation via behavioral, electrophysiological, and magnetic resonance imaging-based tasks

Interventions

Speech sound stimulation

Behavioral-, electrophysiological-, and magnetic resonance imaging-based speech sound testing

Primary outcome measure

  • Speech Sound Identification [ Time Frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours) ]
  • Frequency Following Responses (EEG) [ Time Frame: 1 Session (up to 30 minutes) ]
  • Temporal Response Functions (EEG) [ Time Frame: 1 Session (up to 1 hour) ]
  • Blood-oxygen level dependent activation (functional magnetic resonance imaging) [ Time Frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours) ]
  • Multi-voxel pattern analysis (functional magnetic resonance imaging) [ Time Frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours) ]
  • Psychophysiological Interactions [ Time Frame: 1 Session (up to 2 hours) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Brittany Coleman, MS, CCC-SLP

412-710-6028bmc162@pitt.edu

Ashley Parker, PhD

412-710-6028ashley.parker@pitt.edu

Locations

University of Pittsburgh

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213

Contacts

Brittany Coleman, MS, CCC-SLP

412-710-6028bmc162@pitt.edu

Principal Investigator:

Amanda Hampton Wray, PhD, CCC-SLP

More Information

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Last update posted

Sep 1, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Pittsburgh on 2026-09-01.