Speech Processing in Stuttering

This research is being done to better understand stuttering, specifically how people who stutter may process and/or produce speech. Eligible participants enrolled will complete a variety of computer and speech-based tasks on up to 2 visits.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stuttering; Stuttering, Childhood; Stuttering, Adult
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Speech and non-speech tasks

Detailed Description

The study team will update the record to include the secondary identification number once the NIH has released the funds.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 145
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
      • University of Michigan
    • East Lansing, Michigan, United States, 48824
      • Michigan State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 6 years to 65 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria (adults who do not stutter):

• 18-65 years old
• English as primary language
• Normal speech, language, hearing, cognition

Exclusion criteria: (adults who do not stutter)

• Personal or family history of stuttering
• Major medical or psychiatric illness

Inclusion criteria: (adults who stutter)

• Aged 18-65 years
• English as primary language
• Normal speech, language, hearing, cognition (other than stuttering)
• Currently stutters

Exclusion criteria: (adults who stutter)

• Speech therapy within the past year
• Major medical or psychiatric illness

Inclusion criteria: (children who do not stutter)

• Aged 6 to 17 years
• English as primary language
• Normal speech, language, hearing, cognition

Exclusion criteria: (children who do not stutter)

• Personal or family history of stuttering
• Major medical or psychiatric illness
• Language/motor delay

Inclusion criteria: (children who stutter)

• Aged 6 to 17 years
• English as primary language
• Normal speech, language, hearing, cognition (other than stuttering)
• Currently stutters

Exclusion criteria: (children who stutter)

• Major medical or psychiatric illness
• Language/motor delay

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Adults who stutter (AWS); Participants will have 2 visits.	Behavioral: Speech and non-speech tasks; Participants will complete speech tasks such as listening to and/or producing speech and non-speech sounds.
Other: Healthy Adults; Participants will have 2 visits.	Behavioral: Speech and non-speech tasks; Participants will complete speech tasks such as listening to and/or producing speech and non-speech sounds.
Experimental: Children who Stutter; Participants will have 1 visit.	Behavioral: Speech and non-speech tasks; Participants will complete speech tasks such as listening to and/or producing speech and non-speech sounds.
Other: Healthy Children; Participants will have 1 visit.	Behavioral: Speech and non-speech tasks; Participants will complete speech tasks such as listening to and/or producing speech and non-speech sounds.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Phase Locking Value (PLV) - Session 1 Speech Tasks	Participants will hear a series of single syllables spoken rhythmically and will be instructed to whisper the syllable "tah" repeatedly while the recording is playing. The degree of synchronization (how well the participant's whispered syllables match the cadence of the recorded syllables they are listening to) will be measured by computing the PLV between subject's produced speech and the heard speech. The PLV is a vector with a value between 0 and 1 that reflects the phase difference between two signals, where 0 is a complete mis-match and a 1 is a perfect match. Adults were not instructed to attempt to match the cadence (Implicit task). Child participants were instructed to attempt to match the cadence (Explicit task).	Session 1 (up to 4 hours)
Phase Locking Value (PLV) - Session 2 Speech Tasks	Adult participants will hear a series of single syllables spoken rhythmically and will be instructed to whisper the syllable "tah" repeatedly while the recording is playing. Child participants did not attend Session 2. The degree of synchronization (how well the participant's whispered syllables match the cadence of the recorded syllables they are listening to) will be measured by computing the PLV between subject's produced speech and the heard speech. The PLV is a vector with a value between 0 and 1 that reflects the phase difference between two signals, where 0 is a complete mis-match and a 1 is a perfect match. Adults completed this task twice. For the first test, they were not instructed to attempt to match the cadence (Implicit task). For the second test, they were instructed to attempt to match the cadence (Explicit task).	Session 2 (up to 4 hours)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
R Statistic (Resultant Vector Length)	In tapping synchronization (sensorimotor synchronization) research, the R statistic generally refers to the resultant vector length derived from circular statistics, used to quantify the consistency and stability of a participant's tapping relative to a rhythmic stimulus. It ranges from 0 to 1. 0=Complete inconsistency (taps are uniformly distributed). 1=Perfect consistency (all taps occur at the exact same relative phase).	Session 1 (up to 4 hours)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Michigan
• Collaborators: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Emily Garnett, PhD, University of Michigan

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 4, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 16, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): June 16, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 10, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 10, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): June 18, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 15, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Healthy Adults; Healthy children
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Communication Disorders; Language Disorders; Speech Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Stuttering
• Other Study ID Numbers: HUM00194953; 1R21DC019429-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No