Prediction of Visual Feedback Effects on Speech Motor Adaptation in Healthy Adults

NCT07530900 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: PVF-Aim31R01DC017476
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study examines whether individual differences in how speakers respond to hearing versus physical sensation during speech can predict who benefits most from visual feedback during a speech task. Healthy adults will complete a series of tasks in which auditory feedback is altered in real time through headphones, with and without an added visual display of the speech signal. A computational model will be used to estimate how strongly each participant relies on hearing versus physical sensation when monitoring speech. The study will then test whether this individual profile predicts how much the visual display improves each participant's ability to respond to the altered feedback.

Conditions

Healthy Volunteers; Speech

Keywords

speech motor control; altered auditory feedback; biofeedback; sensorimotor adaptation; computational modeling

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Mean difference in F1 compensation magnitude between auditory-visual and auditory-only feedback conditions of standard adaptive feedback task

  Visual gain is defined as the within-participant difference in acoustic compensation magnitude (measured from formant frequencies) between the auditory-visual feedback condition and the auditory-only condition of the standard adaptive feedback task. Greater visual gain indicates a larger compensatory response when visual feedback is available.

  During study visit (Day 1)

Study Arms (1)

Altered Auditory Feedback With and Without Visual Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

All participants complete altered auditory feedback tasks without visual feedback (baseline phase) followed by the same task with simultaneous real-time visual-acoustic biofeedback. Both conditions are administered within a single study visit.

Behavioral: Altered Auditory Feedback (AAF); Behavioral: Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback

Interventions

Altered Auditory Feedback (AAF) BEHAVIORAL

Participants produce speech while hearing real-time altered auditory feedback delivered through headphones. Two task variants are administered: a fast-adapt design in which the altered feedback is introduced and withdrawn repeatedly, and a standard adaptive design in which the altered feedback is introduced once and maintained for an extended run. Administered to all participants as the baseline condition.

Altered Auditory Feedback With and Without Visual Feedback

Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback BEHAVIORAL

Participants perform the standard adaptive auditory feedback task with the addition of real-time visual display. The visual display presents the altered auditory signal alongside a visual target derived from the participant's baseline production. Administered to all participants following the auditory-only baseline phase.

Altered Auditory Feedback With and Without Visual Feedback

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 45 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age 18 to 45 years
• Self-reported English as dominant or equally dominant language (learned English by age 3)
• No self-reported history of significant speech, language, or hearing difficulty
• Pass pure-tone hearing screening at 25 dB HL
• Pass qualitative screening of speech, voice, and resonance based on connected speech sample

You may not qualify if:

• Learned English after age 3
• English is not a dominant language
• History of speech or language disorder, hearing loss, or neurodevelopmental disorder (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome)
• Failure to pass pure-tone hearing screening
• Failure to pass qualitative screening of speech, voice, and resonance

Sponsors & Collaborators

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

Study Sites (1)

New York University

New York, New York, 10012, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Speech

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Verbal Behavior; Communication; Behavior

Study Officials

• Tara McAllister, PhD

  New York University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Tara McAllister, PhD

CONTACT

212-992-9445; tkm214@nyu.edu

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

Model Details: All participants complete both experimental conditions (auditory-only and auditory-visual feedback) in a within-subject design during a single study visit.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 2, 2026
• First Posted: April 15, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): April 20, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2026
• Last Updated: April 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Data will be shared within 1 year of the study end date and will be made available indefinitely.
• Access Criteria: Publicly accessible

Locations

US (1)