Recruiting

TMS & fMRI

Sponsor:

Yale University

Code:

NCT06467305

Conditions

Speech

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 40

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS)

Adaptation

Study Details

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.

Conditions

Speech

Study ID

NCT06467305

Start date

Oct 1, 2024

Status verified date

Feb, 2026

Completion date

May 31, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Nov 30, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 40

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

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

Study Design

Enrollment

160 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Altered auditory feedback + cTBS to auditory cortex

Participants will perform learning tasks while receiving altered auditory feedback.This procedure will be repeated on day 2. cTBS will be applied to the left hemisphere auditory cortex following learning. Participants then leave the laboratory and return 24 hours later to assess retention of learning.

experimental: Altered auditory feedback + cTBS to somatosensory cortex

Participants will perform learning tasks while receiving altered auditory feedback.This procedure will be repeated on day 2. cTBS will be applied to the left hemisphere somatosensory cortex following learning. Participants then leave the laboratory and return 24 hours later to assess retention of learning.

experimental: Altered auditory feedback + cTBS to motor cortex

Participants will perform learning tasks while receiving altered auditory feedback.This procedure will be repeated on day 2. cTBS will be applied to the left hemisphere motor cortex following learning. Participants then leave the laboratory and return 24 hours later to assess retention of learning.

experimental: Altered auditory feedback + cTBS to motor cortex control zone

Participants in a control condition will undergo the same procedures using cTBS to a motor cortex control zone in the right hemisphere (associated with the hand muscle first dorsal interosseous). cTBS will be applied following learning and subjects will return 24 hours later to test for retention. This control condition is included as a test for non-specific effects of cTBS stimulation.

experimental: Unaltered auditory feedback + cTBS to auditory cortex

Participants will perform learning tasks while receiving unaltered auditory feedback.This procedure will be repeated on day 2. cTBS will be applied to the left hemisphere auditory cortex following learning. Participants then leave the laboratory and return 24 hours later to assess retention of learning. If the effects of cTBS are specific to learning, no effect should be observed in these control conditions.

experimental: Unaltered auditory feedback + cTBS to somatosensory cortex

Participants will perform learning tasks while receiving unaltered auditory feedback.This procedure will be repeated on day 2. cTBS will be applied to the left hemisphere somatosensory cortex following learning. Participants then leave the laboratory and return 24 hours later to assess retention of learning. If the effects of cTBS are specific to learning, no effect should be observed in these control conditions.

experimental: Unaltered auditory feedback + cTBS to motor cortex

Participants will perform learning tasks while receiving unaltered auditory feedback.This procedure will be repeated on day 2. cTBS will be applied to the left hemisphere motor cortex following learning. Participants then leave the laboratory and return 24 hours later to assess retention of learning. If the effects of cTBS are specific to learning, no effect should be observed in these control conditions.

experimental: Unaltered auditory feedback + cTBS to motor cortex control zone

Participants in a control condition will undergo the same procedures using cTBS to a motor cortex control zone in the right hemisphere (associated with the hand muscle first dorsal interosseous). cTBS will be applied following learning and subjects will return 24 hours later to test for retention. This control condition is included as a test for non-specific effects of cTBS stimulation. If the effects of cTBS are specific to learning, no effect should be observed in these control conditions.

Interventions

continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS)

Non-invasive brain stimulation, evoked potentials and fMRI will be used to identify brain regions involved in speech motor learning and retention.

Adaptation

Auditory adaptation in speech

Primary outcome measure

  • Speech motor learning [ Time Frame: Performance as measured at the end of learning (30 minute session) ]
  • Retention of learning [ Time Frame: 24 hours after learning (re-test lasts 30 minutes) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

David Ostry

2038656163david.ostry@yale.edu

Locations

Yale Child Study Center

Recruiting

New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520

More Information

Sponsor

Yale University

Last update posted

Feb 19, 2026

Last verified

Feb, 2026

Keywords

  • Speech Motor Learning
  • Retention

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Yale University on 2026-02-19.