Network Connectivity and Temporal Processing in Adolescents Who Stutter

Subcortical Network Connectivity and Temporal Processing in Children With Persistent and Recovered Stuttering

The specific purpose of this clinical trial is to compare performance on rhythm perception and production tasks between children who stutter and children who do not stutter. The overall project also aims to investigate how performance on rhythm tasks may be related to brain activity (non-clinical trial).

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Stuttering; Stuttering, Childhood
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Rhythm discrimination

Detailed Description

Participants in the clinical trial portion of this study will complete rhythm discrimination and finger tapping experiments once a year for 3 years. The study team will compare performance between groups. Participants will also participate in the non-trial portion of the project that includes having magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) each year for 3 years.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 500
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Soo-Eun Chang, PhD; Phone Number: 734-232-0300; Email: sooeunc@umich.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Emily Garnett, PhD; Phone Number: 734-232-3371; Email: emilyog@umich.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
      • Recruiting
      • University of Michigan
      • Contact: Soo-Eun Chang, PhD; Phone Number: 734-232-0300; Email: sooeunc@umich.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Soo-Eun Chang, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 5 years to 9 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria Children who stutter:

• English as primary language
• Current or past stuttering diagnosis

Inclusion Criteria Children who do not stutter:

• English as primary language

Exclusion Criteria Children who stutter:

• Diagnosed/under treatment for any neurological or psychiatric conditions
• Head trauma with loss of consciousness
• Major medical illness
• Hearing loss- Language/motor delay (below -2 standard deviations on standardized assessments)
• Face, motor, or reflex abnormalities

Exclusion Criteria Children who do not stutter:

• Personal or family history of stuttering
• Diagnosed/under treatment for any neurological or psychiatric conditions
• Head trauma with loss of consciousness
• Major medical illness
• Hearing loss
• Language/motor delay (below -2 standard deviations on standardized assessments
• Face, motor, or reflex abnormalities

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Children who stutter	Behavioral: Rhythm discrimination; Participants will complete a rhythm discrimination task once per year for 3 years.
Experimental: Children who do not stutter	Behavioral: Rhythm discrimination; Participants will complete a rhythm discrimination task once per year for 3 years.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rhythm discrimination (d')	Performance on the rhythm discrimination task will be assessed using a signal detection analysis to distinguish between participants' ability to discriminate same and different rhythms from any general tendency to respond same or different. Hit rates (HRs) and false alarm rates (FARs) will be obtained to calculate d' (a measure of sensitivity; determined by z(HR) - z(FAR)).	Year 1
Rhythm discrimination (d')	Performance on the rhythm discrimination task will be assessed using a signal detection analysis to distinguish between participants' ability to discriminate same and different rhythms from any general tendency to respond same or different. Hit rates (HRs) and false alarm rates (FARs) will be obtained to calculate d' (a measure of sensitivity; determined by z(HR) - z(FAR)).	Year 2
Rhythm discrimination (d')	Performance on the rhythm discrimination task will be assessed using a signal detection analysis to distinguish between participants' ability to discriminate same and different rhythms from any general tendency to respond same or different. Hit rates (HRs) and false alarm rates (FARs) will be obtained to calculate d' (a measure of sensitivity; determined by z(HR) - z(FAR)).	Year 3

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Michigan
• Collaborators: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Soo-Eun Chang, PhD, University of Michigan

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 23, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 9, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 9, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): March 18, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): October 23, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 21, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Timing; Speech disorders; Healthy children; Rhythm; Temporal processing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Communication Disorders; Language Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Speech Disorders; Stuttering
• Other Study ID Numbers: HUM00196133; 2R01DC011277 (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