Speech, Linguistic and Acoustic Markers in Parkinson's Disease (SLAM-PD)

The Investigators aim to identify speech and language markers that provide information on cognitive function and predict cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease. The Investigators will administer speech tasks and cognitive assessments to participants with Parkinson's disease and healthy controls. The Investigators will also explore the associations between genetic factors and speech and cognitive status in Parkinson's disease.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parkinson Disease; Cognitive Impairment, Mild; Speech
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Cognitive Battery; Behavioral: Voice, Speech and Language Analysis; Behavioral: Questionnaires and Clinical Assessments; Genetic: DNA Analysis

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 58

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, 01655
      • UMass Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults with Parkinson's Disease and mild cognitive impairment or normal cognition as well as controls

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parkinson's Disease (or healthy control)
• Disease duration ≥ 2 years
• Mild cognitive impairment or normal cognition

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of dementia (MoCA <21)
• Adults unable to consent
• Age < 18
• Pregnant women
• Prisoners
• Non-English speakers
• Any neurological disorder other than PD
• Deep brain stimulator placement
• Severe, unstable psychiatric disorder
• Unintelligible speech due to effects of PD
• Visual acuity or color vision impairment that would interfere with cognitive testing
• Other voice, speech or swallowing disorders or history of surgery involving palate/nasopharynx/larynx/vocal cords

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Parkinson's Disease; Subjects with Parkinson's Disease	Diagnostic test: Cognitive Battery; Participants will be asked to complete a series of cognitive testing (testing of concentration, memory, and other thinking abilities).; Behavioral: Voice, Speech and Language Analysis; Participants will be asked to perform speaking and reading tasks, which will be recorded. Participants will be asked to complete a laptop-based test of language comprehension.; Behavioral: Questionnaires and Clinical Assessments; Participants with Parkinson's disease will complete an examination of their symptoms and questionnaires assessing disease symptoms, mood and activities of daily living. Healthy controls participants will be asked to complete questionnaires on mood.; Genetic: DNA Analysis; Participants will have their blood drawn for DNA analysis.
Control; Subjects without Parkinson's Disease	Diagnostic test: Cognitive Battery; Participants will be asked to complete a series of cognitive testing (testing of concentration, memory, and other thinking abilities).; Behavioral: Voice, Speech and Language Analysis; Participants will be asked to perform speaking and reading tasks, which will be recorded. Participants will be asked to complete a laptop-based test of language comprehension.; Behavioral: Questionnaires and Clinical Assessments; Participants with Parkinson's disease will complete an examination of their symptoms and questionnaires assessing disease symptoms, mood and activities of daily living. Healthy controls participants will be asked to complete questionnaires on mood.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mild Cognitive Impairment	Mild cognitive impairment classified by Movement Disorders Society Task Force Level II Critieria	baseline
Mean Fundamental Frequency	These acoustic measures during spontaneous speech (picture description) were calculated using Praat	baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Worcester
• Collaborators: Boston University; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD); VA Puget Sound Health Care System; Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Lincoln Labs
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kara Smith, MD, UMass Medical School

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 13, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): February 28, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 12, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 13, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): February 18, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 10, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 7, 2025
• Last Verified: June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Synucleinopathies; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Cognition Disorders; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Movement Disorders; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Cognitive Dysfunction; Parkinson Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: H00011523; 5K23DC016656 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No