Modulation of Sensory Acuity With Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

University of Wisconsin (UW)

Status

Begins enrollment this month

Conditions

Speech

Treatments

Device: TMS

Behavioral: Speaking Tasks

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

NIH

Identifiers

NCT06234059

1R01DC019134-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Protocol Version 8/25/2021 (Other Identifier)

2017-1128 TMS (Exp 8)

A481800 (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this research study is to understand how the brain processes and controls speech in healthy people. The investigators are doing this research because it will help identify the mechanisms that allow people to perceive their own speech errors and to learn new speech sounds, which may be applied to people who have communication disorders. 15 participants will be enrolled into this part of the study and can expect to be on study for 4 visits of 2-4 hours each.

Full description

The overall study (Establishing the clinical utility of sensorimotor adaptation for speech rehabilitation) aims to understand how cognitive, perceptual, and motor processes are integrated in the control of speech movements. The investigators study how this complex skill is performed in healthy speakers to understand how this system functions, how this skill relates to the perception of speech, and what role different parts of the brain play in this process. Different studies look at how speech motor control is executed, maintained, and changed. Overall, the study will recruit 329 participants over the course of 5 years. Participants can expect to be on study for up to 3 weeks.

The entire study is composed of 8 experiments and 6 interventions. The present record represents the experiments involving transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), i.e. Experiment 8: Modulating sensorimotor adaptation through TMS to somatosensory cortex.

This paradigm uses theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (tbTMS) to modulate the excitability of sensory cortices to examine the effect on sensory acuity and sensorimotor adaptation. Participants will complete three total sessions targeting primary somatosensory cortex (S1): one using intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), one using continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS), and one with sham stimulation.

The effect of the stimulation on somatosensory adaptation will be measured using a vowel centralization feedback perturbation experiment: after stimulation, participants will produce words under conditions of altered auditory feedback, and the investigators will measure changes in produced vowels as a result of these alterations.

Enrollment

15 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 70 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria (Control):

English-speaking adults
normal hearing and speech
no history of stroke or neurological conditions

Exclusion Criteria:

Native language other than English
Any neurological disorders other than the disorder of interest
Any history of hearing disorders
Uncorrected vision problems that prevent participants from seeing visually-presented stimuli
Significant cognitive impairments that prevent participants from carrying out the task or from giving informed consent
Vulnerable populations (minors and prisoners)
Additional exclusionary criteria for TMS:
- Implanted paramagnetic materials (metal clips, plates, pacemakers, etc.)
- Increased risk in the event of a seizure
- Serious heart disease
- Increased intracranial pressure
- Pregnancy
- History of seizures
- Family history of epilepsy
- Epileptogenic medications
- Chronic or transient disruption of sleep (including jet lag)
- History of fainting
- Chronic or transient increase in stressful experiences
- Use of illegal drugs