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NCT Number: NCT05876910

Neural Mechanisms for Stopping Ongoing Speech Production

Speech and communication disorders often result in aberrant control of the timing of speech production, such as making improper stops at places where they should not be. During normal speech, the ability to stop when necessary is important for maintaining turn-taking in a smooth conversation. Existing studies have largely investigated neural circuits that support the preparation and generation of speech sounds. It is believed that activity in the prefrontal and premotor cortical areas facilitates high-level speech control and activity in the ventral part of the sensorimotor cortex controls the articulator (e.g. lip, jaw, tongue) movements. However, little is known about the neural mechanism controlling a sudden and voluntary stop of speech. Traditional view attributes this to a disengagement of motor signals while recent evidence suggested there may be an inhibitory control mechanism. This gap in knowledge limits our understanding of disorders like stuttering and aphasia, where deficits in speech timing control are among the common symptoms. The overall goal of this study is to determine how the brain controls the stopping of ongoing speech production to deepen our understanding of speech and communication in normal and impaired conditions.

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Key information

Conditions

Epilepsy Behavior Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Communication Nervous System Diseases Speech Verbal Behavior

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco, California, 94143, United States

About this study

High-density electrocorticography (ECoG) is a state-of-the-art technique with fine spatial and temporal resolutions that are well suited for studying the neural dynamics of speech. This study proposes to assess speech production in patients who are undergoing high-density ECoG recording to carry out clinical procedures for indications related to their medical condition. The research study team will investigate neural signals correlated with speech stopping using speech production and stopping tasks with visual cues. Electrical stimulation routinely used for language mapping will also be applied to test the causal effect on speech behavior in brain areas found to be activated during the speech tasks. The research study team will compare effects on neural activity and behavior within each individual subject and identify common patterns of activity across subjects. The aims of this study seek to define the premotor signal for the control of speech stopping (Aim 1), determine the effect of stop activity on articulatory control during stopping (Aim 2), and determine the role of the premotor network for stopping in conversation contexts (Aim 3). These aims will provide basic knowledge for the precise control of speech stopping and the control of speech timing in general, bridging the current speech production studies to real-world communication conditions, and help inspire new theories of speech motor control.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Participants with medication refractory epilepsy at UCSF undergoing surgical electrode implantation of subdural electrode arrays to define their seizure focus and
Participants with electrodes implanted who are willing and able to cooperate with study tasks.

Exclusion criteria

Participants who lack capacity,
Participants who decline to provide informed consent or
Participants with cognitive deficits that preclude reliable completion of study tasks.

Treatment and study plan

Speech Production Tasks

Behavioral

View visual cues and undergo speech production for 30 minutes. Electrical stimulation of speech related brain regions in the middle of speech production.

Primary outcomes

Mean Change in Neural Activity

Time frame: During inpatient hospitalization, up to 14 days after surgical electrode implantation

The mean change in neural activity is calculated as the average change in neural activity across trials between a time period (~1 second) after the visual cue and a time period (~1 second) before the visual cue. Included neural activity is within the 30-minute period of cue viewing and speech production tasks.

Secondary outcomes

Number of sites with stimulation induced speech termination

Time frame: During inpatient hospitalization, up to 14 days after surgical electrode implantation

The sites with stimulation induced speech termination are defined as the stimulation sites where termination of speech production (occurrence) is observed within 10 seconds after the electrical stimulation.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Other

Collaborators

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2015
Primary completion: 2027
Study completion: 2027
First posted: May 26, 2023
Registry last updated: Oct 8, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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Enrolling by Invitation