N/A
N=75
Investigating the Effects of Rhythm and Entrainment on Fluency in People With Aphasia
Aphasia · Apraxia of Speech
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05248295 ↗Enrolled (actual)
75
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
May 2025
Primary outcome: Primary: Percent Syllables Correct — 99.22; 64.26; 99.46; 52.71 percentage — p=0.077
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- Unison speech (vs. solo) (Behavioral); Metrical timing (vs. conversational) (Behavioral)
- Age
- Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- MGH Institute of Health Professions
- Primary completion
- Jun 2023
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Percent Syllables Correct |
99.22; 64.26; 99.46; 52.71; 99.65; 60.47 | 0.077 |
| SECONDARY Mean Syllable Offset From Model |
-.016; 0.030; 0.006; 0.154 | <0.001 sig |
Summary
Speaking in unison with another person is included as a part of many treatment approaches for aphasia. It is not well understood why and how this technique works. One goal of this study is to determine who benefits from speaking in unison, and what characteristics of speech are most helpful. Another goal is to investigate a possible mechanism for this benefit: why does speaking in unison help? A possible mechanism for this benefit is examined, by testing whether the degree of alignment of a person's speech with that of another speaker can account for unison benefit.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Native-speaker fluency in American English (prior to stroke for people with aphasia)
- Controls must report no history of speech, language, neurological disorders, or stroke
- People with aphasia must be at least 6-months post-stroke, and aphasia must be due to stroke
Exclusion Criteria
- Inadequate hearing ability to reliably complete task: fail hearing screen
- Inadequate cognitive ability to understand and remember task: fail cognition screening (different measures for controls and people with aphasia)
- Inadequate speech repetition ability to complete task, or to be considered a control: fail speech repetition screening (different thresholds for controls and people with aphasia)
- Inadequate auditory comprehension ability to understand task: fail auditory comprehension screen (people with aphasia only)
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05248295). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.