Improving Speech Motor Learning Processes Using Augmented Behavioral Interventions

Summary

The aim of this research is to develop protocols that selectively target and improve speech-motor learning processes. Participants will be asked to name pictures, read words/sentences, and listen to sounds while their speech signals will be collected during the study.

Eligibility

Age range

18+ years

Sex

All

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Interventions

• Behavioral
  Effects of speech variability on speech motor learning

  This intervention will examine whether reducing normal variability of speech could improve error detection and speech motor learning. We will design training tasks to change subjects' speech variability. We will train subjects to decrease/decrease their speech variability. Upon completing the training tasks, subjects will complete a motor learning task.

• Behavioral
  Effects of error-detection training on speech motor learning

  This intervention will examine whether improving subjects' ability to detect and estimate auditory perturbation could improve speech motor learning. For this purpose, we will design training tasks to change subjects' estimation of the perturbation magnitude. After completing the training tasks, subjects will complete the motor learning task.

• Behavioral
  Contributions of error awareness to speech motor learning

  This intervention will examine the contributions of error awareness to speech motor learning. Subjects will produce a target word while receiving perturbed auditory feedback with different magnitudes. Subjects will be trained to indicate the magnitude of the error they perceived with or without visual feedback.

• Behavioral
  Enhancing auditory-to-motor mapping with augmented visual feedback

  This intervention will determine the contributions of enhanced auditory-to-motor mappings to speech motor learning. We will design training tasks in which we will use visual feedback to provide feedback regarding subjects' accuracy of auditory-to-motor mapping.

Location