Modulation of Sensory Acuity With Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
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.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
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N/A |
Detailed 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. Experiments 7 and 8: Using TMS to alter somatosensory acuity and 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 auditory acuity will be measured through a tactile discrimination task in which participants report the relative amplitude and/or timing of vibrating probes pressed lightly into the tongue using a custom device (a version of the Corticalmetrics Brain Gauge adapted to study the orofacial system).
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 we will measure changes in produced vowels as a result of these alterations.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Healthy Adult Speakers healthy adult participants across the lifespan in three groups:18-35, 36-55, and 56+ |
Device: TMS
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.
Other Names:
Behavioral: somatosensory acuity measurement
Somatosensory acuity will be measured through a tactile discrimination task using the corticalmetrics Brain Gauge. Participants lightly press their tongue onto two vibrating probes and report which one vibrated first or with greater amplitude.
Behavioral: Speaking Tasks
Participants will produce four training words under a vowel centralization feedback paradigm in which auditory feedback is altered. We will measure changes in produced vowels as a result of the altered feedback in concert with the different stimulation regimes described in the TMS intervention.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Somatosensory acuity [up to 1 hour]
We will measure thresholds in amplitude discrimination and temporal order judgment using the corticalmetrics Brain Gauge. We use tactile acuity as a proxy for full somatosensation, given the difficulty in measuring proprioception in the oral system. Tactile acuity has been suggested to be important for speech production, as tactile contact is maintained parasagittally during vowel production and tactile deprivation leads to imprecise speech movements.
- Acoustic vowel space measures: AVS/VSA [up to 1 hour]
For speech production tasks, our primary acoustic measure will be adaptation to the altered feedback, defined here as increases in AVS (average vowel spacing), the mean of pairwise formant distances between vowels. We also include a global measure of working vowel space, the quadrilateral vowel space area (qVSA). qVSA measures the area (in Hz^2) between the F1/F2 coordinates of the corner vowels. Both the more local AVS and more global qVSA have been linked to speech intelligibility in various types of dysarthria.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria (Control):
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English-speaking adults
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normal hearing and speech
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no history of stroke or neurological conditions
Exclusion Criteria:
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Native language other than English
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Any neurological disorders other than the disorder of interest
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Any history of hearing disorders
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Uncorrected vision problems that prevent participants from seeing visually-presented stimuli
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Significant cognitive impairments that prevent participants from carrying out the task or from giving informed consent
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Vulnerable populations (minors and prisoners)
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Additional exclusionary criteria for TMS:
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Implanted paramagnetic materials (metal clips, plates, pacemakers, etc.)
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Increased risk in the event of a seizure
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Serious heart disease
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Increased intracranial pressure
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Pregnancy
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History of seizures
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Family history of epilepsy
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Epileptogenic medications
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Chronic or transient disruption of sleep (including jet lag)
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History of fainting
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Chronic or transient increase in stressful experiences
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Use of illegal drugs
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Wisconsin | Madison | Wisconsin | United States | 53705 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Carrie Niziolek, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- 2017-1128 TMS (Exp 7 and 8)
- Protocol Version 8/25/2021
- A481800
- 1R01DC019134-01A1