Correlations Between Fine Manual Motor Skills and Speech Articulation (MOFiA)

Cortical Correlations Between Fine Manual Motor Skills and Speech Articulation : Pilot Study

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between cerebral motor control during a manual task and during an articulary task, using functional MRI in a cohort or young adults aged between 18 and 35.

The literature reveals a well-established relationship between manual motor skills and speech from an anatomical and functional point of view. Some studies indicate a proximity between the motor cortical regions corresponding to the hand and the mouth, with a mutual interaction of the two functions from the earliest stages of life (for example, the Babkin reflex). Experimental data shows that hand movements can be influenced by mouth movements. Neurophysiological studies have demonstrated the existence of a link between these two systems in humans and monkeys.

To date, no study has identified the common cortical networks that are active during these two limb movements in a given sample of subjects. The aim of this study is to determine whether such networks exist. The results could be therapeutically relevant, particularly for stroke patients, by enabling more effective restoration of articulatory abilities through complementary limb movements.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Correlations Between Cerebral Motor Control During a Manual Task and During an Articulatory Task
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Tasks learning and MRI scan

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • PACA
    • Nice, PACA, France, 06003
      • CHU de Nice

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male or female between the ages of 18 and 35
2. Right-handed
3. Member of beneficiary of a social security insurance
4. Signature of an informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Disorders of fine manual motor skills and/or articulatory disorders
2. A neurological history that has affected the subject's cerebral function (stroke, head injury)
3. Contraindication to MRI (presence of ferromagnetic material in the body, claustrophobia)
4. Pregnant women
5. Taking medication that may alter the cerebral haemodynamic signal

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Motor tasks and oral and facial language; Exercises and MRI

Other: Tasks learning and MRI scan; - 2-week learning and training phase of motor tasks and oral and facial language (OLF) tasks. Manual fine motor tasks will correspond to activities requiring increasing precision and different types of grip (crushing a ball, modelling clay with the palm of the hand, sorting round coins with thumb/index pliers). The OLF praxis tasks will correspond to coordinated movements of different parts of the face (cheeks, lips and tongue). - MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) exam, During this exam, the investigator will give to the subject instructions for a task to be carried out. These tasks will correspond to the motor tasks previously trained.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Recording of brain activity during manual motor skills and speech articulation	Detection and comparison of fMRI image sequences of brain areas based on variations in the difference between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin during manual motor tasks and silent phoneme articulation	2 weeks after inclusion

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Guillaume SACCO, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 13, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): February 4, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 25, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 1, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 3, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 19, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Motor skills, speech, cortical
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Communication; Verbal Behavior; Speech; Investigative Techniques; Chemistry Techniques, Analytical; Spectrum Analysis; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 24-AOIP-03

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