Somesthesic Role of the Ventro-lateral Prefrontal Cortex in Speech Motor Learning (BRAVA²)

Somesthesic Role of the Ventro-lateral Prefrontal Cortex in Speech Motor Learning fMRI Study

These studies test the hypothesis that frontal areas of the brain participate in the cortical networks involved in the somotosensory processing that happens during speech motor learning.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Motor Activity; Speech
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Speech adaptation; Other: fMRI; Behavioral: Speech production; Behavioral: Vibrotactile Discrimination

Detailed Description

This work aims to study the role of sensory systems in human motor learning and specifically addresses the involvement of somatosensory cortical networks in motor learning of speech. Previous studies in the literature have highlighted the plasticity of cortical sensory networks, notably the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex and the ventral premotor cortex, during motor learning tasks. The present project focuses on the somatosensory region with connections to the sensorimotor regions of the frontal and parietal cortex. We propose to use neuroimaging (fMRI), in order to verify which areas in the prefrontal cortex are part of the sensorimotor network used in the learning of speech motor tasks in humans. Subjects will be tested in the fMRI scanner while performing either a behavioral task in which the auditory feedback of their own speech is altered or while performing a vibrotactile discrimination task.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 16
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Grenoble, France, 38043
    • CHU Grenoble-Alpes

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Right-handed subjects
• Subjects fluent in French
• Signed informed consent
• Affiliation to or beneficiary of a Social Security scheme

Exclusion Criteria:

• Left-handed subjects
• Criteria for contraindications to protocol fMRI scans
• Existence of a severe general condition: cardiac, respiratory, hematological, renal, hepatic, cancerous.
• Hearing, language (including dyslexia), neurological or psychiatric disorders.
• Participation in other ongoing intervention research protocols with exclusionary period or within the previous week
• Drug treatment likely to modulate brain activity: benzodiazepines, antidepressants, neuroleptics, lithium, etc.

• Protected persons referred to in articles L1121 5 to L1121 8 of the French CSP:

  • Pregnant women, parturients, nursing mothers,
  • Persons deprived of liberty by a judicial or administrative decision,
  • Persons under psychiatric care,
  • Individuals admitted to a health or social institution for purposes other than research,
  • Minors,
  • Persons over the age of majority who are subject to a legal protection measure or who are unable to express their consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Adaptation to altered auditory feedback; fMRI measurement of brain activity during speech production under altered auditory feedback	Behavioral: Speech adaptation; Sensorimotor adaptation in speech; Other: fMRI; fMRI measurement of brain activity
Experimental: Speech production; fMRI measurement of brain activity during normal speech production	Other: fMRI; fMRI measurement of brain activity; Behavioral: Speech production; Speech production task
Experimental: Vibrotactile discrimination; fMRI measurement of brain activity during a vibrotactile discrimination task	Other: fMRI; fMRI measurement of brain activity; Behavioral: Vibrotactile Discrimination; Vibrotactile Discrimination

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Motor Learning	Learning is assessed as percentage change in speech sounds (speech formant frequencies) relative to baseline.	Performance as measured at the end of learning (during the 1h30 scanner session)
Brain activity	Brain activity are measure by the BOLD signal during both task-based and resting-state blocks	1h30 scanner session

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Grenoble
• Collaborators: McGill University; GIPSA-LAB; Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 20, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 6, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): July 6, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 7, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 11, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): September 14, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 1, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 31, 2022
• Last Verified: May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 38RC18.173

Drug and device information, study documents

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