Sensorimotor Basis of Speech Motor Learning and Retention

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand how the brain learns and retains new speech movements by studying brain plasticity not only in motor areas but also in auditory and sensory regions. The central idea is that changes in these brain areas help with learning and holding onto new speech patterns. The study tests this by disrupting activity in specific brain regions using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and observing how this affects speech motor learning and retention. Participants will read sentences aloud while hearing their voice altered through headphones to induce speech motor adaptation. After this learning phase, a specific type of brain stimulation called continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) is applied to either the auditory, somatosensory, or motor cortex of the left hemisphere, or a control area in the right hemisphere. The treatment is delivered following the learning task, and participants return 24 hours later to assess how well they retained the new speech motor learning. Both altered and unaltered auditory feedback conditions are included to test specific effects of the brain stimulation. During the study, participants perform learning tasks over two days, with cTBS applied after the second day’s task. Researchers measure performance at the end of learning and retention after 24 hours, each lasting about 30 minutes. The study includes brain imaging and evoked potential recordings to identify brain regions involved in learning and retention. Participants are monitored for changes in speech motor performance and brain activity throughout the process.

Speech Motor Learning and Retention (Aim 1)