ADHD - Voice Analysis, Vocal Acoustic Biomarkers in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Phase 1 Study of Vocal Acoustic Biomarkers in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The purpose of this study is to detect specific vocal acoustic patterns in the voice of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Detailed Description

This project aims to develop an objective diagnostic instrument for ADHD through an automatic voice-analysis system, which uses as input the natural speech of the participants. The underlying voice-analysis procedure was developed by J. Langner at Humboldt University of Berlin (Langner 2003). It ignores the semantic content of spoken words and extracts prosodic and sound features from the speech.

Aims of the study:

• deliver optimized multivariate logistic regression models of prosodic and sound properties of speech for ADHD.
• observe sensitivity and specificity of the voice-analysis procedure.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 400

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Berlin, Germany, 14050
    • Recruiting
    • Center for ADHD Research, Department of Psychiatry, Charite - University Medicine
    • Contact: Michael Colla, PhD; Phone Number: 8704 ++49-30-8445; Email: michael.colla@charite.de
    • Contact: Daina Langner, PhD; Phone Number: 8478 ++49-30-8445; Email: daina.langner@charite.de
    • Principal Investigator: Michael Colla, PhD
    • Principal Investigator: Daina Langner, PhD
    • Principal Investigator: Laura Gentschow

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 50 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

German speaking: Adults, age 18-50 years.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18-50.
2. Written informed consent.
3. Adult ADHD / Non-ADHD according to the fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
4. Normal vocal functioning, negative history for voice or laryngeal disorders.
5. Currently euthyroid condition; in case of past history of thyroid disease and need for current pharmacological treatment, patient needs to be on stable medication for at least 4 weeks.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Exclusion of borderline and antisocial personality disorder, assessed by the German version of the SCID-II (Fydrich et al., 1997).
2. Exclusion of schizophrenia and psychotic disorders not otherwise specified.
3. Exclusion of Epilepsia.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
ADHD - Patients; Adults (18-50 years old). All eligible subjects will experience the voice recording procedure followed by the assessment of adult ADHD diagnostics. The diagnostic guidelines for ADHD in adulthood will be accomplished as outlined by expert consensus of the German Society for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology, with a semi-structured clinical interview following the DSM-IV-TR criteria and the ADHD-Checklist (ADHD-CL) for DSM-IV (Hesslinger et al., 2002) to assess the severity of ADHD-Symptoms. Childhood ADHD symptoms will be rated retrospectively amongst others by using the short version (WURS-k) of the Wender Utah Rating Scale (Ward et al., 1993), German version (Retz-Junginger et al., 2002). To strengthen the validity of the ADHD diagnosis the reported symptoms were corroborated by second party reports.
Healthy Controls; Adults(18-50 years old). All eligible subjects will experience the voice recording procedure followed by the ADHD-Checklist (ADHD-CL) for DSM-IV (Hesslinger et al., 2002. To assess the severity of Non-ADHD, the absence of childhood ADHD symptoms will be rated retrospectively amongst others by using the short version (WURS-k) of the Wender Utah Rating Scale (Ward et al., 1993), German version (Retz-Junginger et al., 2002).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Charite University, Berlin, Germany
• Collaborators: MediTECH Electronic GmbH; AudioProfiling, Dr. Joerg Langner
• Investigators: Study Chair: Michael Colla, PhD, Center for ADHD Research, Department of Psychiatry, Charite - University Medicine Berlin

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Hamdan AL, Deeb R, Sibai A, Rameh C, Rifai H, Fayyad J. Vocal characteristics in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. J Voice. 2009 Mar;23(2):190-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2007.09.004. Epub 2007 Dec 21.
• Banse R, Scherer KR. Acoustic profiles in vocal emotion expression. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1996 Mar;70(3):614-36. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.70.3.614.

Helpful Links

• ADHD - Voice Analysis

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): November 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 14, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 14, 2010
• First Posted (Estimate): April 15, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 8, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 7, 2012
• Last Verified: February 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: ADHD
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Dyskinesias; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Hyperkinesis
• Other Study ID Numbers: AiF KF2247401-AK9-1