Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

University of Pittsburgh

Code:

NCT06458153

Conditions

Stroke

Cerebellum

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Neural responses to speech functional localizer

Neural responses to silent articulation

Neural responses to self vs. externally generated speech

Event-related potentials for speech

Neural responses to induced speech errors

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this research study is to learn how the brain areas that plan and control movement interact with the areas responsible for hearing and perceiving speech in healthy adults and people who have had cerebellar strokes. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. What regions of the brain's sensory systems show changes in their activity related to speech?
2. To what extent do these regions help listeners detect and correct speech errors?
3. What is the role of the cerebellum (a part of the brain in the back of the head) in these activities?

Participants will be asked to complete several experimental sessions involving behavioral speech and related tests and non-invasive brain imaging using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Conditions

Stroke

Cerebellum

Study ID

NCT06458153

Start date

May 27, 2025

Status verified date

Jun, 2026

Completion date

Jul, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

Cohort 1 (neurotypical adults):

  • Age 18-49
  • Right-handed
  • Native English speaker

Cohort 2 (people with cerebellar lesions):

  • Age 18 or older
  • Right-handed
  • Native English speaker
  • History of cerebellar stroke

Cohort 3 (controls matched to Cohort 2)

  • Age 18 or older
  • Right-handed
  • Native English speaker

Exclusion Criteria:

Cohort 1 (neurotypical adults):

  • Presence of MRI risk factors: metal and/or electromagnetic devices (e.g., pacemakers, neurostimulators) in the body, previous shrapnel injuries, use of an intrauterine device containing metal, claustrophobia, pregnant or possibly pregnant
  • History of neurological / neurodegenerative disease or severe brain injury (e.g., stroke or severe traumatic brain injury)
  • Hearing loss, defined by pure tone thresholds >25 decibels (dB) hearing level (HL) at octave frequencies between 250-8000 Hz
  • Clinical diagnosis and/or treatment for schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders
  • Clinical diagnosis and/or treatment for neurocognitive disorders (e.g., dementia, delirium)
  • Presence of a severe and unmanaged, clinically diagnosed attention disorder
  • Clinically diagnosed with or treated for a speech, language, or hearing disorder
  • Head circumference greater than 60cm or weight greater than 300 pounds
  • History of severe claustrophobia
  • Currently pregnant

Cohort 2 (people with cerebellar lesions):

  • Presence of MRI risk factors: metal and/or electromagnetic devices (e.g., pacemakers, neurostimulators) in the body, previous shrapnel injuries, use of an intrauterine device containing metal, claustrophobia, pregnant or possibly pregnant
  • History of neurological / neurodegenerative disease or severe brain injury other than stroke
  • Hearing loss, defined by pure tone thresholds >50 dB HL at octave frequencies between 250-4000 Hz
  • Clinical diagnosis and/or treatment for schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders
  • Clinical diagnosis and/or treatment for neurocognitive disorders (e.g., dementia, delirium)
  • Presence of a severe and unmanaged, clinically diagnosed attention disorder
  • Head circumference greater than 60cm or weight greater than 300 pounds
  • History of severe claustrophobia
  • Currently pregnant

Cohort 3 (controls matched to Cohort 2):

  • Presence of MRI risk factors: metal and/or electromagnetic devices (e.g., pacemakers, neurostimulators) in the body, previous shrapnel injuries, use of an intrauterine device containing metal, claustrophobia, pregnant or possibly pregnant
  • History of neurological / neurodegenerative disease or severe brain injury (e.g., stroke or severe traumatic brain injury)
  • Hearing loss, defined by pure tone thresholds >50 dB HL at octave frequencies between 250-4000 Hz
  • Clinical diagnosis and/or treatment for schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders
  • Clinical diagnosis and/or treatment for neurocognitive disorders (e.g., dementia, delirium)
  • Presence of a severe and unmanaged, clinically diagnosed attention disorder
  • Clinically diagnosed with or treated for a speech, language, or hearing disorder
  • Head circumference greater than 60cm or weight greater than 300 pounds
  • History of severe claustrophobia
  • Currently pregnant

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Speech behavior and functional imaging

Assessing the neural correlates of speaking-induced sensory modulation in all three cohorts using behavior and neuroimaging tasks in up to 6 sessions.

Interventions

Neural responses to speech functional localizer

Measuring speech-related brain activity using fMRI during a speech listening task.

Neural responses to silent articulation

Measuring speech-related brain activity using fMRI during a silent articulation task.

Neural responses to self vs. externally generated speech

Measuring speech-related brain activity using fMRI during self-generated vs. externally-generated speech.

Event-related potentials for speech

Measuring electroencephalography (EEG) based evoked potentials for self vs. externally generated speech

Neural responses to induced speech errors

Measuring speech-related brain activity using fMRI during conditions that induce auditory speech errors.

Neural responses to sensory-motor adaptation

Measuring brain activity using fMRI during a learning task with sustained altered auditory feedback.

Speech production behaviors

Behavioral measurements of speech during reading passages and words

Auditory acuity testing

Measurements of auditory acuity during listening tasks.

Neural responses to learning a non-speech auditory motor behavior

Mapping of brain areas using fMRI during learning of non-speech sound-evoking movements.

Primary outcome measure

  • Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses to self vs. externally generated speech [ Time Frame: One session lasting 2-3 hours, within 12 months of enrollment ]
  • BOLD responses related to pre-speech auditory modulation [ Time Frame: One session lasting 2-3 hours, within 12 months of enrollment ]
  • EEG responses to self vs. externally generated speech [ Time Frame: One session lasting 2-3 hours, within 12 months of enrollment ]
  • BOLD responses to induced auditory errors [ Time Frame: One session lasting 2-3 hours, within 12 months of enrollment ]
  • BOLD responses during adaptation to auditory perturbations [ Time Frame: One session lasting 2-3 hours, within 12 months of enrollment ]
  • BOLD responses during learning of non-speech auditory motor targets [ Time Frame: One session lasting 2-3 hours, within 12 months of enrollment ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Jason W Bohland, Ph.D.

412-383-3416j.bohland@pitt.edu

Alexander Ocampo, B.A.

amo104@pitt.edu

Locations

University of Pittsburgh

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15260

Contacts

Jason Bohland, Ph.D.

412-383-3416j.bohland@pitt.edu

Alexander Ocampo, BA

amo104@pitt.edu

Principal Investigator:

Jason W Bohland, Ph.D.

More Information

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Last update posted

Jun 18, 2026

Last verified

Jun, 2026

Keywords

  • fmri
  • speech production
  • cerebellum
  • auditory-motor integration
  • speech motor control
  • neuroimaging

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 2026-06-18.