Prediction of Visual Feedback Effects on Speech Motor Adaptation in Healthy Adults (PVF)

Prediction of Visual Feedback Gain in Altered Auditory Feedback Tasks Using Computational Modeling

This study examines whether individual differences in how speakers respond to hearing versus physical sensation during speech can predict who benefits most from visual feedback during a speech task. Healthy adults will complete a series of tasks in which auditory feedback is altered in real time through headphones, with and without an added visual display of the speech signal. A computational model will be used to estimate how strongly each participant relies on hearing versus physical sensation when monitoring speech. The study will then test whether this individual profile predicts how much the visual display improves each participant's ability to respond to the altered feedback.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy Volunteers; Speech
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Altered Auditory Feedback (AAF); Behavioral: Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback

Detailed Description

During speech, the brain relies on multiple sources of feedback, including auditory input and physical sensations from the tongue and lips, to monitor and adjust speech in real time. People differ in how much they rely on each of these feedback sources, and these individual differences may predict who benefits most from different types of technological support for speech learning.

This study examines whether a computational model of individual response to sensory feedback can predict how much a person benefits from the addition of real-time visual feedback during a speech task. Participants will complete a series of tasks in which auditory feedback of speech is altered in real time through headphones. A computational model is then used to estimate how strongly each participant relies on hearing versus physical sensation when monitoring speech. Participants then repeat the task with an added visual display showing the speech signal alongside a target, providing an additional source of feedback.

The primary question is whether the computational profile of sensory feedback use - specifically, whether a person relies more heavily on hearing or on physical sensation - predicts how much the visual display improves each participant's ability to respond to the altered feedback.

At baseline, participants complete two versions of an altered auditory feedback (AAF) task without visual feedback. The first uses a "fast adapt" design in which altered feedback is introduced and withdrawn repeatedly across short experimental runs; the second uses a standard adaptive design in which the altered feedback is introduced once and maintained for a longer run. Performance in both tasks is submitted to SimpleDIVA computational modeling to estimate participant-specific auditory and somatosensory response parameters. The use of two task variants allows evaluation of the stability of parameter estimates across elicitation conditions.

Participants then complete a standard adaptive AAF task with simultaneous real-time visual-acoustic biofeedback. The visual display presents the current audio playback signal (i.e., the altered signal) alongside a visual target derived from the participant's baseline production. The primary outcome measure is visual gain, defined as the within-participant difference in compensation magnitude between the auditory-visual feedback condition and the auditory-only condition of the standard adaptive AAF task.

The primary analysis uses linear regression to test whether SimpleDIVA parameters from the baseline phase predict the magnitude of visual gain. The predictor of primary interest is the ratio of auditory to total sensory weighting, reflecting the relative dominance of auditory versus somatosensory feedback. Baseline compensation magnitude in the auditory-only condition will be included as a covariate. A paired-samples t-test will also evaluate the overall effect of adding visual feedback on compensation magnitude across the sample.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Tara McAllister, PhD; Phone Number: 212-992-9445; Email: tkm214@nyu.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10012
      • Recruiting
      • New York University
      • Contact: Tara McAllister, PhD; Email: tkm214@nyu.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Tara McAllister, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 to 45 years
• Self-reported English as dominant or equally dominant language (learned English by age 3)
• No self-reported history of significant speech, language, or hearing difficulty
• Pass pure-tone hearing screening at 25 dB HL
• Pass qualitative screening of speech, voice, and resonance based on connected speech sample

Exclusion Criteria:

• Learned English after age 3
• English is not a dominant language
• History of speech or language disorder, hearing loss, or neurodevelopmental disorder (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome)
• Failure to pass pure-tone hearing screening
• Failure to pass qualitative screening of speech, voice, and resonance

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: Altered Auditory Feedback With and Without Visual Feedback; All participants complete altered auditory feedback tasks without visual feedback (baseline phase) followed by the same task with simultaneous real-time visual-acoustic biofeedback. Both conditions are administered within a single study visit.

Behavioral: Altered Auditory Feedback (AAF); Participants produce speech while hearing real-time altered auditory feedback delivered through headphones. Two task variants are administered: a fast-adapt design in which the altered feedback is introduced and withdrawn repeatedly, and a standard adaptive design in which the altered feedback is introduced once and maintained for an extended run. Administered to all participants as the baseline condition.; Behavioral: Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback; Participants perform the standard adaptive auditory feedback task with the addition of real-time visual display. The visual display presents the altered auditory signal alongside a visual target derived from the participant's baseline production. Administered to all participants following the auditory-only baseline phase.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean difference in F1 compensation magnitude between auditory-visual and auditory-only feedback conditions of standard adaptive feedback task	Visual gain is defined as the within-participant difference in acoustic compensation magnitude (measured from formant frequencies) between the auditory-visual feedback condition and the auditory-only condition of the standard adaptive feedback task. Greater visual gain indicates a larger compensatory response when visual feedback is available.	During study visit (Day 1)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: New York University
• Collaborators: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tara McAllister, PhD, New York University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 27, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 2, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 8, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): April 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 11, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: biofeedback; speech motor control; sensorimotor adaptation; altered auditory feedback; computational modeling
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Communication; Verbal Behavior; Speech
• Other Study ID Numbers: PVF-Aim3; 1R01DC017476 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Complete de-identified data and scripts to reproduce analyses reported in study manuscripts
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will be shared within 1 year of the study end date and will be made available indefinitely.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Publicly accessible
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

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