Activity of the Auditory Cortex During Speech Perception and Speech Production in Stuttering

Stuttering Clinical Trial

Official title:

Evoked and Induced Auditory Cortical Activity During Speech Perception and Speech Production in Stuttering

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00148161
• Other study ID #: phonpaed001
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• First received: September 6, 2005
• Last updated: April 26, 2007
• Start date: November 2004

Study information

• Verified date: September 2006
• Source: University Hospital Muenster
• Contact: Antoinette G Dinnesen, Prof. Dr.
• Phone: +49(0)251 83
• Email: a.g.dinnesen[@]uni-muenster.de
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Germany: Ethics Commission
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

The goal of the study is to examine the cortical activity during speech perception and speech production in idiopathic stutterers compared to fluent speakers. Therefore, the noninvasive method of magnetoencephalography (MEG) is used. A better understanding for the complexity of speech perception and its pathology should be developed.

Fundamental properties of stuttering are repetitions, prolongations, and blocks. In most cases stuttering emerges between 2 and 5 years of age. The auditory feedback should become less important during development, as soon as information about mispronounced words does not occur anymore. During speech development this control function should be adopted by other systems. In stutterers the dominance of the acoustic control should remain.

Brain imaging studies with positron emission tomography (PET) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) show defects in the network of motor system, in the lateralization of speech areas, and functions of the auditory cortex. Magnetoencephalographic studies describe a similar variety as cause of stuttering. There may be defects in the auditory feedback, a modification of the lateralization of speech areas, or an alteration of co-action of motor planning and auditory system.

The benefit of magnetoencephalography is a very good temporal resolution in the range of milliseconds combined with good spatial resolution. Therefore, it is well suited to examine the dynamics of cortical processing during stuttering. In this study evoked components of the auditory systems related to complex sounds, vocals, consonant-vocal combinations, and single words are analyzed. Differences of these components in the auditory cortices of stutterers and fluent speakers are hypothesized as well in temporal structure as in localization and lateralization.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 20
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Male
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects with idiopathic stuttering (for the group of stutterers)

• Fluently speaking subjects (for the control group)

• Right handed

• Normal hearing

Exclusion Criteria:

• Neurological diseases

• Psychiatric diseases

• Medication with neurological effective drugs

• Implants with magnetic impact

Study Design

Observational Model: Defined Population, Time Perspective: Cross-Sectional

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Stuttering

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Germany	Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University Hospital Münster	Münster
Germany	Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis	Münster

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University Hospital Muenster

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Germany, 

External Links

•   Homepage of the Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis