Clinical trial NCT00148161: Activity of the Auditory Cortex During Speech Perception and Speech Production in Stuttering
Official title: Evoked and Induced Auditory Cortical Activity During Speech Perception and Speech Production in Stuttering
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Conditions: Stuttering
Keywords: Magnetoencephalography
Auditory cortex
Stuttering
Non stuttering
Lead sponsor: University Hospital Muenster
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2005-09-07
Enrollment: 20
Sex: MALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: DEFINED_POPULATION
Time perspective: OTHER

Brief summary: The goal of the study is to examine the cortical activity during speech perception and speech production in idiopathic stutterers compared to fluent speakers. Therefore, the noninvasive method of magnetoencephalography (MEG) is used. A better understanding for the complexity of speech perception and its pathology should be developed.

Fundamental properties of stuttering are repetitions, prolongations, and blocks. In most cases stuttering emerges between 2 and 5 years of age. The auditory feedback should become less important during development, as soon as information about mispronounced words does not occur anymore. During speech development this control function should be adopted by other systems. In stutterers the dominance of the acoustic control should remain.

Brain imaging studies with positron emission tomography (PET) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) show defects in the network of motor system, in the lateralization of speech areas, and functions of the auditory cortex. Magnetoencephalographic studies describe a similar variety as cause of stuttering. There may be defects in the auditory feedback, a modification of the lateralization of speech areas, or an alteration of co-action of motor planning and auditory system.

The benefit of magnetoencephalography is a very good temporal resolution in the range of milliseconds combined with good spatial resolution. Therefore, it is well suited to examine the dynamics of cortical processing during stuttering. In this study evoked components of the auditory systems related to complex sounds, vocals, consonant-vocal combinations, and single words are analyzed. Differences of these components in the auditory cortices of stutterers and fluent speakers are hypothesized as well in temporal structure as in localization and lateralization.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Subjects with idiopathic stuttering (for the group of stutterers)
* Fluently speaking subjects (for the control group)
* Right handed
* Normal hearing

Exclusion Criteria:

* Neurological diseases
* Psychiatric diseases
* Medication with neurological effective drugs
* Implants with magnetic impact

Primary outcomes:
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Münster
country: Germany
facility: Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis
city: Münster
country: Germany
facility: Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University Hospital Münster
Study officials:
affiliation: Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University Hospital Münster
name: Antoinette G Dinnesen, Prof. Dr.
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
affiliation: Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University Hospital Münster
name: Arne Knief, Dr.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: