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

About This Study

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.

What's Involved

Conditions Studied

Study Locations

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* 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

Exclusion Criteria:

* 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