Recruiting

Speech Motor Learning

Sponsor:

Yale University

Code:

NCT06491823

Conditions

Speech

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 40

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Adaptation

Adaptation baseline

Motor evoked potentials

Auditory evoked potentials

Somatosensory evoked potentials

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

NCT06491823

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

120 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: MEPs (M1) / altered auditory feedback / MEPs + retention tests at 24h

Evoked potentials will be recorded from brain area M1 (motor cortex) in combination with a speech motor learning procedure known as adaptation to altered auditory feedback. Retention of learning will be tested 24h later along with additional evoked potential recordings.

experimental: AEPs (A1) / altered auditory feedback / AEPs + retention tests at 24h

Evoked potentials will be recorded from brain area A1 (auditory cortex) in combination with a speech motor learning procedure known as adaptation to altered auditory feedback. Retention of learning will be tested 24h later along with additional evoked potential recordings.

experimental: SEPs (S1) / altered auditory feedback / SEPs + retention tests at 24h

Evoked potentials will be recorded from brain area S1 (somatosensory cortex) in combination with a speech motor learning procedure known as adaptation to altered auditory feedback. Retention of learning will be tested 24h later along with additional evoked potential recordings.

experimental: MEPs (M1) / unaltered auditory feedback / MEPs + retention tests at 24h

Evoked potentials will be recorded from brain area M1 (motor cortex) in combination with unaltered auditory feedback. Retention of learning will be tested 24h later along with additional evoked potential recordings.

experimental: AEPs (A1) / unaltered auditory feedback / AEPs + retention tests at 24h

Evoked potentials will be recorded from brain area A1 (auditory cortex) in combination with unaltered auditory feedback. Retention of learning will be tested 24h later along with additional evoked potential recordings.

experimental: SEPs (S1) / unaltered auditory feedback / SEPs + retention tests at 24h

Evoked potentials will be recorded from brain area S1 (somatosensory cortex) in combination with unaltered auditory feedback. Retention of learning will be tested 24h later along with additional evoked potential recordings.

Interventions

Adaptation

Auditory adaptation in speech

Adaptation baseline

Auditory baseline in speech

Motor evoked potentials

motor evoked potentials will be obtained in each recording block

Auditory evoked potentials

auditory evoked potentials will be obtained in each recording block

Somatosensory evoked potentials

Somatosensry evoked potentials will be obtained in each recording block

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) ]
  • Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) [ Time Frame: Performance as measured at the end of learning (30 minute session) ]
  • Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) [ Time Frame: Performance as measured at the end of learning (30 minute session) ]
  • Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) [ Time Frame: Performance as measured at the end of learning (30 minute session) ]

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.