Cortical Contributions to Frequency Following Responses and Modulation

NCT05010473 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: STU00219433R01DC013315
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 73
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The frequency-following response (FFR), a scalp-recorded neurophonic potential, is a widely used metric of speech encoding integrity in healthy and clinical human populations. The translational potential of the FFR as a biomarker is constrained by poor understanding of its neural generators and influencing factors. This study leverages a cross-species and cross-level approach to provide mechanistic insight into the properties of the cortical source of the FFR, and elucidate the role of cortical feedback via cortico-collicular projections on modulation of the FFR as a function of stimulus context, arousal state, and category relevance. This clinical trial will focus on the influences of category relevance, predictability, and participant arousal state on the FFRs in neurotypical human participants.

Conditions

Language

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Pitch tracking and decoding accuracies for dynamically varying pitch in naturally produced Mandarin tone categories

  The similarity between the stimulus and the FFR will be evaluated. The pitch tracking ability will be estimated by comparing the sliding window autocorrelation pitch tracks of the stimulus and FFR. Machine learning models will be trained to decode FFR to different stimulus categories based on pitch height and pitch direction. The chance estimates of the decoding accuracies will be estimated.

  During EEG session, up to 3 hours

• Stimulus-specific effects in Chinese vs. English participants

  The stimulus-specific effects in human participants, based on pitch tracking and decoding accuracies, will be assessed. The decoding accuracies and pitch tracking metrics for mandarin tone categories will be compared between Chinese listeners and English listeners. The focus will be to evaluate the specific benefits in Chinese listeners to track pitch height and direction patterns in Mandarin tones.

  During EEG session, up to 3 hours

• Arousal state and predictability effects on the FFRs

  Arousal state and its dependence on encoding of predictability effects on the FFRs will be evaluated. The pitch tracking metrics and decoding accuracies will be compared across repetitive and contextual stimulus sequences while sorting the trials based on peak pupillary dilation as a proxy for arousal state. The predictability effects will be charted as a function of the arousal states and evaluated.

  During simultaneous EEG and pupillometry session, up to 3 hours

Study Arms (1)

Neurotypical Human Participants

EXPERIMENTAL

Native speakers of Chinese and native speakers of English

Behavioral: Speech and non-speech sound stimulation

Interventions

Speech and non-speech sound stimulation BEHAVIORAL

Listening to repetitive and extended sound presentation induces specific neural and physiological activity that we will measure via electroencephalography and pupillometry

Neurotypical Human Participants

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age 13 years up to 25 years
• Healthy volunteers
• Native English speaking individuals with no exposure or experience to tonal languages
• Native Mandarin speakers
• Hearing sensitivity within normal limits (Puretone hearing thresholds \< 25dB from 250
• Hz to 8000 Hz)
• Less than six years of formal music training or experience

You may not qualify if:

• Proficiency in languages other than English or Chinese
• History of or current complaint of hearing loss or tinnitus
• History of or current complaint of cognitive impairments
• Individuals with more than 5 years of formal music experience or training
• Complaints of impaired speech perception in noise

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northwestern University: lead
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois, 60208, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Language

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Communication; Behavior

Study Officials

• Bharath Chandrasekaran, PhD

  Northwestern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 30, 2021
• First Posted: August 18, 2021
• Study Start: January 20, 2022
• Primary Completion: March 4, 2026
• Study Completion: March 4, 2026
• Last Updated: April 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Data will become available as soon as possible but no later than one year upon completion of the study
• Access Criteria: Our data will be made publicly available as soon as possible online to make it easily and widely accessible.

Locations

US (1)