NCT05876910

Neural Mechanisms for Stopping Ongoing Speech Production

ENROLLING BY INVITATION NA Last updated 8 October 2024

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Speech Production Tasks in Epilepsy in 30 participants. Enrolling by invitation.

Timeline

8 December 2015

Primary endpoint
30 November 2027

30 November 2027

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of California, San Francisco
Phase	NA
Status	ENROLLING BY INVITATION
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	na
Design	single group
Masking	none
Primary purpose	basic science
Enrollment	30
Start date	8 December 2015
Primary completion	30 November 2027
Estimated completion	30 November 2027
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Speech Production Tasks

Conditions studied

• Epilepsy — all drugs for Epilepsy →
• Speech — all drugs for Speech →

Sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Who can join

Adults 18 to 65, any sex, with Epilepsy or Speech. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Speech and communication disorders often result in aberrant control of the timing of speech production, such as making improper stops at places where they should not be. During normal speech, the ability to stop when necessary is important for maintaining turn-taking in a smooth conversation. Existing studies have largely investigated neural circuits that support the preparation and generation of speech sounds. It is believed that activity in the prefrontal and premotor cortical areas facilitates high-level speech control and activity in the ventral part of the sensorimotor cortex controls the articulator (e.g. lip, jaw, tongue) movements. However, little is known about the neural mechanism controlling a sudden and voluntary stop of speech. Traditional view attributes this to a disengagement of motor signals while recent evidence suggested there may be an inhibitory control mechanism. This gap in knowledge limits our understanding of disorders like stuttering and aphasia, where deficits in speech timing control are among the common symptoms. The overall goal of this study is to determine how the brain controls the stopping of ongoing speech production to deepen our understanding of speech and communication in normal and impaired conditions.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Inhibitory control of speech production in the human premotor frontal cortex.
   Zhao L, Silva AB, Kurteff GL, Chang EF. · · 2025 · cited 6× · PMID 40033133 · DOI 10.1038/s41562-025-02118-4