Cortical ways we plan speech in healthy people and Parkinson’s
Official title: Cortical mechanisms of normal and disordered human speech
Funded at New York University School of Medicine · NIH-11391876 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are studying how the brain plans speech in people with and without Parkinson’s disease to understand why speech may be harder for some individuals.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | New York University School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $685,327 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DC023790-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11391876 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with Parkinson’s disease and adults without PD who are part of prior or ongoing ECoG research or observational studies.
✕Less likely to help
The study involves invasive brain recordings in a subset of patients, which may not benefit all participants.
What this research studies
A team of neurosurgeons and brain scientists will study the brain activity related to speech planning using data from people with and without Parkinson’s disease. They will look at how large brain networks and local regions coordinate during spoken interactions and how this changes in PD. The project builds on previous work that used brain recordings and stimulation to identify speech-planning regions. Advanced analysis will track how brain signals evolve during the planning process in both groups. The goal is to reveal how PD might disrupt normal speech planning and how these networks behave at rest and during conversation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could improve our understanding of speech problems in PD and guide new approaches to therapy or interventions to support communication.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has shown distinct planning networks and that perturbations can disrupt speech planning, supporting the approach as promising.
Where this research is happening
-
New York University School of Medicine
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Long, Michael a — New York University School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Long, Michael a
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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.