NCT06968169

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine how memory and attention affect the ability of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) to learn and use new vocabulary.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
120

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
50mo left

Started Feb 2025

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress23%
Feb 2025Jun 2030

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 9, 2025

Completed
15 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 24, 2025

Completed
3 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 13, 2025

Completed
4.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 1, 2029

Expected
1 year until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

June 1, 2030

Last Updated

May 13, 2025

Status Verified

May 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

4.3 years

First QC Date

February 24, 2025

Last Update Submit

May 5, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

nonword repetitionword learningmemoryattention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Accuracy of Syllable Repetition

    Number of syllables pronounced correctly.

    Day 1

  • Accuracy of Word Comprehension

    Number of correct answers on a 4-alternative-forced-choice word comprehension probe.

    Day 2

Study Arms (5)

Prosody

EXPERIMENTAL

In Aim 1a, the syllables to be repeated are presented with English-like prosody or list-like prosody.

Behavioral: Supportive learning

Meaning

EXPERIMENTAL

In Aim 1a, the syllables to be repeated will have meaning (e.g., neck) or no meaning (e.g., ba).

Behavioral: Supportive learning

Grammar

EXPERIMENTAL

In Aim 1b, the syllables to be repeated are English adjectives and nouns. They will be presented to obey English grammar (e.g., happy pencil) or not (e.g., pencil happy).

Behavioral: Supportive learning

Attention

EXPERIMENTAL

In Aim 2, the syllables to be repeated will be presented in the 'baseline' condition or an 'attention-grabbing' condition. The attention grabbers are a reduction in the audio signal of 10dB (so that the child must listen carefully) and a visual cue (a cartoon character with large ears to cue listening carefully).

Behavioral: Supportive learning

Encoding

EXPERIMENTAL

In Aim 4, new words will be learned from instruction that involves active practice (high encoding condition) or passive study (low encoding condition).

Behavioral: Cascades

Interventions

All interventions are manipulations to the stimuli that the child hears with the goal of discovering which manipulations support verbal learning.

AttentionGrammarMeaningProsody
CascadesBEHAVIORAL

The intervention is a manipulation of word instruction with the goal of discovering whether weaker word learning results in cascading effects on semantic category memory and sentence comprehension.

Encoding

Eligibility Criteria

Age5 Years - 10 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17)

You may qualify if:

  • Has DLD or typical language development

You may not qualify if:

  • Has not been exposed to English since birth
  • Has other neurodevelopmental or sensory condition that could explain the language problem (e.g., intellectual disability, autism, hearing loss).

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Boys Town National Research Hospital

Omaha, Nebraska, 68131, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Language Development Disorders

Interventions

MAP Kinase Signaling System

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Language DisordersCommunication DisordersNeurobehavioral ManifestationsNeurologic ManifestationsNervous System DiseasesSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Signal TransductionBiochemical PhenomenaChemical PhenomenaMetabolic Networks and PathwaysMetabolismCell Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

  • Karla McGregor, Ph.D.

    Boystown National Research Hospital

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NON RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
BASIC SCIENCE
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Aims 1 and 2 are single group interventions. Aim 3 is not an intervention. Aim 4 is a parallel intervention.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 24, 2025

First Posted

May 13, 2025

Study Start

February 9, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2030

Last Updated

May 13, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

The study team will share research data generated and metadata and descriptors. The purpose is to make shared data meaningful and usable by other researchers. The data will be behavioral data generated from clinical measures and behavioral experiments. The data will consist of numbers (e.g., accuracy levels, scores), demographic descriptors (e.g., age and sex), and audio files of children's repetitions of word- and nonword syllables. De-identified, individual-level raw data will be shared publicly. Audio files will be shared under a data agreement only.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
Time Frame
The start date is 2-20-2026. The end date is 50 years later.
Access Criteria
To maximize the benefits of data sharing, the team will share data as broadly as possible to the extent consistent with applicable laws, regulations, rules, and policies. Anyone, including members of the general public, will have access to all of the de-identified data in the form of numbers (e.g., test scores). No video files will be shared. Audio files will be shared with those who qualify and seek permission via a data-sharing agreement. The data-sharing agreement provides for (1) a commitment to using the data only for research purposes and not to identify any individual participant; (2) a commitment to securing the data using appropriate computer technology; and (3) a commitment to destroying or returning the data after analyses are completed. The publicly available data and the data sharing agreement will be accessible in a public-facing Collection in Open Science Framework (osf.io).

Available IPD Datasets

Study Protocol Access

Locations