Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Treat Stuttering

NCT07389694 | Recruiting FDA Device

• 1 other identifier: KPelczarski
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 2
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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

Conditions

Stuttering, Adult

Keywords

stuttering; noninvasive treatment; transcranial magnetic stimulation; eye tracking; EEG

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Changes in functional connectivity with resting-state electroencephalography (rs-EEG)

  A seed-based functional connectivity analysis will be carried out between the two stimulated brain areas. To assess the changes in effective connectivity, the investigators will compare the seed-based connectivity values across sessions.

  Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment.

• Changes in behavioral measures of stuttering and phonological processing.

  To assess functional changes as a result of rTMS treatment, comparison of eye tracking measurements of duration, dwell time, and number of fixations of eye movements while completing speech and language-based tasks are compared across sessions.

  Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment.

Study Arms (1)

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat stuttering

EXPERIMENTAL

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

Interventions

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation DEVICE

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.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat stuttering

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

• 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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kansas State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Bluemont Hall, Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University

Manhattan, Kansas, 66506-7500, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (12)

• Ridding MC, Rothwell JC. Is there a future for therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation? Nat Rev Neurosci. 2007 Jul;8(7):559-67. doi: 10.1038/nrn2169.

  PMID: 17565358 BACKGROUND

• Hernandez-Pavon JC, Harvey RL. Noninvasive Transcranial Magnetic Brain Stimulation in Stroke. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2019 May;30(2):319-335. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2018.12.010. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

  PMID: 30954150 BACKGROUND

• Hernandez-Pavon JC, Veniero D, Bergmann TO, Belardinelli P, Bortoletto M, Casarotto S, Casula EP, Farzan F, Fecchio M, Julkunen P, Kallioniemi E, Lioumis P, Metsomaa J, Miniussi C, Mutanen TP, Rocchi L, Rogasch NC, Shafi MM, Siebner HR, Thut G, Zrenner C, Ziemann U, Ilmoniemi RJ. TMS combined with EEG: Recommendations and open issues for data collection and analysis. Brain Stimul. 2023 Mar-Apr;16(2):567-593. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.02.009. Epub 2023 Feb 23.

  PMID: 36828303 BACKGROUND

• Pelczarski KM, Tendera A, Dye M, Loucks TM. Delayed Phonological Encoding in Stuttering: Evidence from Eye Tracking. Lang Speech. 2019 Sep;62(3):475-493. doi: 10.1177/0023830918785203. Epub 2018 Jul 6.

  PMID: 29976115 BACKGROUND

• Pelczarski KM, Yaruss JS. Phonological memory in young children who stutter. J Commun Disord. 2016 Jul-Aug;62:54-66. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.05.006. Epub 2016 May 17.

  PMID: 27280891 BACKGROUND

• Pelczarski KM, Yaruss JS. Phonological encoding of young children who stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2014 Mar;39:12-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2013.10.003. Epub 2013 Nov 20.

  PMID: 24759190 BACKGROUND

• Byrd CT, McGill M, Usler E. Nonword repetition and phoneme elision in adults who do and do not stutter: Vocal versus nonvocal performance differences. J Fluency Disord. 2015 Jun;44:17-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2015.01.004. Epub 2015 Jan 24.

  PMID: 25680736 BACKGROUND

• Anderson JD, Wagovich SA, Hall NE. Nonword repetition skills in young children who do and do not stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2006;31(3):177-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2006.05.001. Epub 2006 Jun 30.

  PMID: 16814376 BACKGROUND

• Strand F, Forssberg H, Klingberg T, Norrelgen F. Phonological working memory with auditory presentation of pseudo-words -- an event related fMRI Study. Brain Res. 2008 May 30;1212:48-54. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2008.02.097. Epub 2008 Mar 18.

  PMID: 18442810 BACKGROUND

• Perrachione TK, Ghosh SS, Ostrovskaya I, Gabrieli JDE, Kovelman I. Phonological Working Memory for Words and Nonwords in Cerebral Cortex. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2017 Jul 12;60(7):1959-1979. doi: 10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-15-0446.

  PMID: 28631005 BACKGROUND

• Neef NE, Anwander A, Butfering C, Schmidt-Samoa C, Friederici AD, Paulus W, Sommer M. Structural connectivity of right frontal hyperactive areas scales with stuttering severity. Brain. 2018 Jan 1;141(1):191-204. doi: 10.1093/brain/awx316.

  PMID: 29228195 BACKGROUND

• Neef NE, Hoang TN, Neef A, Paulus W, Sommer M. Speech dynamics are coded in the left motor cortex in fluent speakers but not in adults who stutter. Brain. 2015 Mar;138(Pt 3):712-25. doi: 10.1093/brain/awu390. Epub 2015 Jan 15.

  PMID: 25595146 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stuttering

Interventions

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Speech Disorders; Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Magnetic Field Therapy; Therapeutics

Study Officials

• Kristin Pelczarski, Ph.D.

  Kansas State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc

  Kansas State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Kristin Pelczarski, Ph.D.

CONTACT

785-532-6879; kpelczar@ksu.edu

Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc

CONTACT

juliohpavon@ksu.edu

Study Design

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

Model Details: Repeated measures, single subject design

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 29, 2026
• First Posted: February 5, 2026
• Study Start: February 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 15, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 15, 2027
• Last Updated: February 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

US (1)