Establish the Role of Premotor and Motor Cortices in tDCS-facilitated Speech Motor Learning

Description

Groups of unimpaired participants will all receive speech motor training of nonwords, and six tDCS conditions will be compared: anodal tDCS over speech motor regions; cathodal tDCS over speech motor regions; anodal tDCS over left frontal regions; cathodal tDCS over left frontal regions; cathodal stimulation over non-speech motor regions (anodal already collected);and sham tDCS (no stimulation). This will address a basic science question about whether the mechanism underlying speech motor learning requires premotor and motor cortical regions to be stimulated, which has implications for treatment of acquired speech impairment. The primary outcome measure will be the difference in production accuracy and changes in motor acuity (measured with duration) of novel consonant cluster production.

Conditions

Healthy

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

Groups of unimpaired participants will all receive speech motor training of nonwords, and six tDCS conditions will be compared: anodal tDCS over speech motor regions; cathodal tDCS over speech motor regions; anodal tDCS over left frontal regions; cathodal tDCS over left frontal regions; cathodal stimulation over non-speech motor regions (anodal already collected);and sham tDCS (no stimulation). This will address a basic science question about whether the mechanism underlying speech motor learning requires premotor and motor cortical regions to be stimulated, which has implications for treatment of acquired speech impairment. The primary outcome measure will be the difference in production accuracy and changes in motor acuity (measured with duration) of novel consonant cluster production.

Establish the Role of Premotor and Motor Cortices in tDCS-facilitated Speech Motor Learning

Establish the Role of Premotor and Motor Cortices in tDCS-facilitated Speech Motor Learning

Condition
Healthy
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

New York

New York University Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, New York, New York, United States, 10012

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * native English speaker (learned English in the home from birth)
  • * no exposure to languages that contain the trained consonant clusters (e.g., Slavic languages, Greek, Hebrew).
  • * a history of speech, language or hearing disorder
  • * not passing a hearing screening (40 dB HL; ANSI: 1983) at 500, 1000, 2000, 4000Hz binaurally
  • * presence of potential tDCS risk factors: damaged skin at site of stimulation; presence of electrically or magnetically activated implant (including pacemaker); and metal in any part of their body

Ages Eligible for Study

18 Years to 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

New York University,

Adam Buchwald, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, New York University

Study Record Dates

2026-03-01