Modulation of Sensory Acuity With Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Condition: Speech
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this research study is to understand how the brain processes and controls
      speech in healthy people. The investigators are doing this research because it will help
      identify the mechanisms that allow people to perceive their own speech errors and to learn
      new speech sounds, which may be applied to people who have communication disorders. 15
      participants will be enrolled into this part of the study and can expect to be on study for 4
      visits of 2-4 hours each.
    

Detailed description: 
      The overall study (Establishing the clinical utility of sensorimotor adaptation for speech
      rehabilitation) aims to understand how cognitive, perceptual, and motor processes are
      integrated in the control of speech movements. The investigators study how this complex skill
      is performed in healthy speakers to understand how this system functions, how this skill
      relates to the perception of speech, and what role different parts of the brain play in this
      process. Different studies look at how speech motor control is executed, maintained, and
      changed. Overall, the study will recruit 329 participants over the course of 5 years.
      Participants can expect to be on study for up to 3 weeks.

      The entire study is composed of 8 experiments and 6 interventions. The present record
      represents the experiments involving transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), i.e. Experiment
      7: Using TMS to alter somatosensory acuity.

      This paradigm uses theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (tbTMS) to modulate the
      excitability of sensory cortices to examine the effect on sensory acuity and sensorimotor
      adaptation. Participants will complete three total sessions targeting primary somatosensory
      cortex (S1): one using intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), one using continuous
      theta-burst stimulation (cTBS), and one with sham stimulation.

      The effect of the stimulation on auditory acuity will be measured through a tactile
      discrimination task in which participants report the relative amplitude and/or timing of
      vibrating probes pressed lightly into the tongue using a custom device (a version of the
      Corticalmetrics Brain Gauge adapted to study the orofacial system).
    

Intervention name(s): TMS; somatosensory acuity measurement
Intervention type(s): Device; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): This paradigm uses theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (tbTMS) to modulate the excitability of sensory cortices to examine the effect on sensory acuity and sensorimotor adaptation. Participants will complete three total sessions targeting primary somatosensory cortex (S1): one using intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), one using continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS), and one with sham stimulation.; Somatosensory acuity will be measured through a tactile discrimination task using the corticalmetrics Brain Gauge. Participants lightly press their tongue onto two vibrating probes and report which one vibrated first or with greater amplitude.
Other intervention name(s): transcranial magnetic stimulation (continuous and intermittent theta-burst stimulation), electromyography (EMG)
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: speech motor control; vocal learning