The Brain Processes Underlying Speech Motor Learning and Speech Production

Purpose

The aim of this research is to develop protocols that selectively target and improve speech-motor learning processes. Participants will be asked to name pictures, read words/sentences, and listen to sounds while their speech signals will be collected during the study.

Condition

  • Healthy Adults

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • 18 years and older - native speaker of American English - normal (age-appropriate) binaural pure-tone hearing threshold - not taking medications affecting sensorimotor functioning - no current or history of communication, neurological, or psychological disorders

Exclusion Criteria

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Basic Science
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Healthy Adults group 1
  • Behavioral: Effects of speech variability on speech motor learning
    This intervention will examine whether reducing normal variability of speech could improve error detection and speech motor learning. We will design training tasks to change subjects' speech variability. We will train subjects to decrease/decrease their speech variability. Upon completing the training tasks, subjects will complete a motor learning task.
Experimental
Healthy Adults group 2
  • Behavioral: Effects of error-detection training on speech motor learning
    This intervention will examine whether improving subjects' ability to detect and estimate auditory perturbation could improve speech motor learning. For this purpose, we will design training tasks to change subjects' estimation of the perturbation magnitude. After completing the training tasks, subjects will complete the motor learning task.
Experimental
Healthy Adults group 3
  • Behavioral: Contributions of error awareness to speech motor learning
    This intervention will examine the contributions of error awareness to speech motor learning. Subjects will produce a target word while receiving perturbed auditory feedback with different magnitudes. Subjects will be trained to indicate the magnitude of the error they perceived with or without visual feedback.
Experimental
Healthy Adults group 4
  • Behavioral: Enhancing auditory-to-motor mapping with augmented visual feedback
    This intervention will determine the contributions of enhanced auditory-to-motor mappings to speech motor learning. We will design training tasks in which we will use visual feedback to provide feedback regarding subjects' accuracy of auditory-to-motor mapping.
Experimental
Healthy Adults group 5
  • Behavioral: Effects of enhanced auditory-motor awareness on speech motor learning
    In this intervention, subjects will be trained to control their articulators more accurately and be more aware of their articulators' position and their auditory consequences. After the training tasks, subjects will complete a motor learning task.

Recruiting Locations

Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287
Contact:
Ayoub Daliri
480-727-8397
ayoub.daliri@asu.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Arizona State University

Study Contact

Ayoub Daliri
4807278397
ayoub.daliri@asu.edu