Automated speech and language checks for Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia in English and Spanish speakers
An automated machine learning approach to language changes in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia across Latino and English-speaking populations
['FUNDING_R01'] · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · NIH-11404659
This project uses computer analysis of natural speech to find early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia in English- and Spanish-speaking adults.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11404659 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you join, you'll be asked to speak naturally while short recordings are made so researchers can extract acoustic and language features. Those speech features will be analyzed with automated algorithms and machine learning using thousands of recordings from Latino and U.S. English-speaking participants. The team will compare patterns across diagnoses (Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia, and controls) and across factors like language, dialect, bilingualism, sex, and brain profile. The goal is to create low-cost, scalable speech tools that work across diverse communities.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults with Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia and healthy control adults, especially English- or Spanish-speaking Latino participants and bilingual individuals.
Not a fit: People who cannot produce natural spoken language (for example, those in advanced nonverbal stages) or whose primary language is neither English nor Spanish may not benefit or be eligible.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to affordable, simple speech-based tools to help detect and monitor dementia earlier in English- and Spanish-speaking patients.
How similar studies have performed: Smaller prior studies show automated speech analyses can detect dementia-related changes, but work in Latino and bilingual populations is limited and this approach is still being validated.
Where this research is happening
SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO — SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: GORNO TEMPINI, MARIA LUISA — UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- Study coordinator: GORNO TEMPINI, MARIA LUISA
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions: Alzheimer disease dementia, Alzheimer syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease