Understanding voice spasms and tremors (laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor)
Official title: Next-generation clinical phenotyping and pathophysiology of laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor
Funded at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary · NIH-11161195 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program will map patterns and causes of voice spasms and tremors to help people with laryngeal dystonia or voice tremor get more accurate diagnoses and better treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $682,489 |
| NIH project number | 5P50DC019900-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11161195 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults diagnosed with or suspected to have laryngeal dystonia or voice tremor, including those receiving or who have received botulinum toxin injections, would be the best fit.
✕Less likely to help
People whose voice problems come from non-neurological causes (like structural throat injury or acute infection) or from unrelated disorders are unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
You may be invited to undergo detailed voice and speech tests, clinical exams, and brain imaging scans and to share your treatment history, including botulinum toxin injections. Teams at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Mass General, UCSF, and University of Utah will combine clinical data across three projects and a shared core to find distinct symptom patterns and brain signatures. Some efforts will compare human findings with laboratory models to clarify underlying biology. The goal is to use those results to create clearer diagnostic rules and guide disorder-specific care and future targeted therapies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to clearer diagnoses and more effective, tailored treatments that reduce voice disability and social impact.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows botulinum toxin can relieve symptoms and imaging studies suggest brain differences, but a coordinated multi-center effort to standardize phenotyping and create disorder-specific care is new.
Where this research is happening
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Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Simonyan, Kristina — Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
- Study coordinator: Simonyan, Kristina
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Next-generation clinical profiling for laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor
A multi-site program is exploring what makes laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor different from other conditions, aiming to improve diagnosis and targeted treatments for people affected by these voice disorders.
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Deep brain stimulation to improve voice in laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor
Researchers will record brain activity during and before DBS surgery to learn how stimulation changes voice control in people with laryngeal dystonia or voice tremor.
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Brain causes of vocal spasms (laryngeal dystonia) and voice tremor
This project uses advanced brain imaging while people speak to find when and where brain activity goes wrong in laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor.
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Telling strained voices apart from shaky voices to improve diagnosis
This project looks for clear voice and clinical features to help people with strained, stopped, or shaky speech get the right diagnosis faster.
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Using deep brain stimulation to improve voice control in patients with movement disorders
This study is looking at how a treatment called deep brain stimulation can help people with movement disorders, like laryngeal dystonia and essential tremor, improve their voice control while they talk, so they can better understand how the brain affects voice production and find new ways to help those struggling with
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Exploring brain function in voice disorders like laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor
This study is looking at how the brain helps people with laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor speak, using special brain scans to find out what’s happening in their brains during speech, so we can better understand these conditions and improve treatment options for those affected.
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.