Understanding how individuals control their speech movements
Official title: Quantitatively Characterizing the Speech Motor Skillsets of Individual Speakers
Funded at Boston University (Charles River Campus) · NIH-11130321 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how people control their speech and how different sounds and sensations affect their speaking, and it includes adults with stuttering, dyslexia, and those who speak normally, to help create better treatments for communication challenges.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston University (Charles River Campus) NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $681,385 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DC022014-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11130321 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research include adults with persistent developmental stuttering, adults with dyslexia, and neurotypical adults aged 21 and older.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who do not have communication disorders or are under 21 years old may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research aims to develop a computational model that characterizes how individual speakers control their speech motor skills. By examining auditory and somatosensory feedback mechanisms, the study will involve participants performing speech tasks while their responses to various auditory and sensory challenges are measured. The research will include adults with developmental stuttering, dyslexia, and neurotypical adults, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of speech motor control across different populations. The findings could lead to tailored therapies for communication disorders based on individual speech motor characteristics.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to customized therapies that improve speech motor control for individuals with communication disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Similar research has shown promise in understanding speech motor control, but this approach is innovative in its use of neurocomputational modeling.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston University (Charles River Campus)
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Guenther, Frank H — Boston University (Charles River Campus)
- Study coordinator: Guenther, Frank H
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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.