Speech and language screening for Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking adults
Official title: An automated machine learning approach to language changes in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia across Latino and English-speaking populations
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11404656 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses automated speech and language analysis to find signs of Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $105,238 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AG075775-03S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11404656 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with memory or language concerns, people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia, and healthy volunteers—especially Spanish-speaking Latinos and English-speaking adults—are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who speak languages other than Spanish or English, have severe hearing or speech impairments that prevent clear recordings, or have unrelated neurological conditions may not benefit from this work.
What this research studies
You would be asked to speak naturally while your voice is recorded so researchers can extract sound and language features. The team will apply automated acoustic and linguistic analyses and machine learning to recordings from people with Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia, and healthy controls across Spanish and English speakers. They will compare speech markers with standard cognitive tests and account for factors like bilingualism, sex, and brain profiles. The aim is to create a low-cost, culturally valid tool that works across languages and populations.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable earlier, cheaper, and culturally appropriate speech-based screening and monitoring for Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia.
How similar studies have gone: Previous automated speech and language studies have shown promise for detecting dementia, but most were small, lacked focus on Latino populations, and rarely distinguished Alzheimer’s from frontotemporal dementia.
Where this research is happening
-
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
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Automated language analysis for Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English speakers
A low-cost, automated speech and language analysis tool is being developed to help identify Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking people.
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Automated language analysis for Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia across Latino and English-speaking groups
A low-cost, automated language study aims to help diagnose and understand Alzheimer’s and FTD in diverse Spanish- and English-speaking communities.
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Automated language analysis to help diagnose Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English speakers
A low-cost, computer-based method analyzes speech and language to help identify Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking people.
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Automated language analysis for Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking communities
A low-cost, computer-based language analysis method is being developed to help identify Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking people.
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Automated language analysis to detect Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking adults
A low-cost, computer-based language and speech analysis tool will help identify Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking adults.
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Automated language analysis for Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English speakers
A machine learning approach analyzes speech and language from Latino and English-speaking people to help detect Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
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.