Purpose

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if repeated transcranial magnetic stimuli (rTMS) can treat stuttering in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Will there be changes in the brains of people who stutter because of the treatment? - Will any changes in the brain result in less stuttering? Participants will: - Visit the lab 3 times before treatment for tests - Complete 10 rTMS sessions - Visit the lab 2 times after treatment for tests

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 65 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Age from 18 to 65 years - Self-identifies as a person who currently stutters - Right-handed or left-handed - Normal hearing and (corrected) vision - Able to understand and give informed consent - Monolingual English speaker

Exclusion Criteria

  • Cardiac pacemaker or pacemaker wires; neurostimulators; implanted pumps - Metal in the body (rods, plates, screws, shrapnel, dentures, IUD) or metallic particles in the eye - Facial tattoos - Not having medical insurance - Surgical clips in the head or previous neurosurgery - Any magnetic particles in the body - Cochlear implants - Prosthetic heart valves - Epilepsy or any other type of seizure history - History of significant head trauma (i.e., extended loss of consciousness, neurological sequelae) - Known structural brain lesions - Pre-existing speech, language, or neurological disorder (except for stuttering) - Significant other disease (heart disease, malignant tumors, mental disorders) - Significant claustrophobia; Ménière's disease - Women who are trying to get pregnant and sexually active women (of reproductive age) not on a reliable contraceptive - Pregnancy, breastfeeding - Medications increasing the risk for seizures - Non-prescribed drug use - Use of recreational drugs such as medical marijuana - Failure to perform the behavioral tasks or neuropsychological evaluation tests - Prisoners

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
N/A
Intervention Model
Single Group Assignment
Intervention Model Description
Repeated measures, single subject design
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat stuttering
There is only one arm to this study. All participants will receive 10 days of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to specific cortical speech and motor areas.
  • Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
    This study uses Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) applied to specific speech and motor areas of the brain to stimulate cortical areas that experience reduced activations during left-hemisphere dominant tasks in people who stutter.

Recruiting Locations

Bluemont Hall, Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University
Manhattan 4274994, Kansas 4273857 66506-7500
Contact:
Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., D.Sc.
785-532-0805
juliohpavon@ksu.edu

More Details

NCT ID
NCT07389694
Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Kansas State University

Study Contact

Kristin Pelczarski, Ph.D.
785-532-6879
kpelczar@ksu.edu

Detailed Description

Measures must be obtained to in preparation for TMS treatment. Structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) recordings will be obtained from the participant, and they will undergo a neuronavigational session to determine best placement for the electrodes. MRI/rsfMRI recordings: The structural MRIs will be obtained and used for TMS neuronavigation. Resting-state functional MRI will be recorded for 8 min with the eyes open. rTMS will be delivered at 10 Hz for 10 min with a stimulation intensity of 120% of the resting motor threshold (rMT). Neuronavigation: The TMS coil will be navigated with a neuronavigation system using the individual MRIs. rTMS targets: rTMS will be delivered to the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). We will use the neuronavigation system to identify the IFG. Three pre-treatment and 2 post-treatment sessions will each obtain data from the following measurements: - rs-EEG: rs-EEG responses will be recorded with eyes open for 5 minutes using a 64-channel EEG system. - Eye tracker: eye gaze fixations, dwell time, saccades, and gaze durations will be recorded while the participant completes several behavioral phonological memory tasks. - Spontaneous speech sample will be obtained to determine percent syllables stuttered.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.