Developmental Language DisorderTime2LearnNCT05901493
Category Learning Retention in Adults With and Without Developmental Language Disorder
A study testing Perceptual category training in people with Developmental Language Disorder and Adults Without Language Disorder, run by University of Delaware at 2 sites in United States.
Trial summary
Approximately 7% of the population experiences developmental language disorder (DLD), a language disorder with unclear causes. DLD affects communication beyond adolescence and poses challenges for education and career advancement due to difficulties in learning and memory. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 55 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Developmental Language Disorder, Adults Without Language Disorder
- What is being tested?
- Perceptual category training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 540 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesUnited States
- Study dates
- 23 Oct 2022to 31 Jul 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 55 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- native speakers of American English
- Grew up in a household in which only American English was spoken
- 18-55 years of age
- Typical vision \& hearing
- (Aim 2) access to headphones/devices capable of accessing experiment script via internet
- Must meet criteria for Group membership as either TD or DLD
Who cannot join
- History of neurological disorders
- History of psychiatric disorders
- History of socio-emotional disorders
- On prescription medication(s) that alter sleep
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States2 sites, 2 recruiting
- Recruiting
Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115
Zhenghan Qi, PhD, z.qi@northeastern.edu
- Recruiting
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware, 19713
Frances S Earle, PhD, 302-831-3878, fsearle@udel.edu
About this study
Official title: Improving the Retention of Speech-Perceptual Learning in Adults With and Without Language Disorder
Approximately 7% of the population experiences developmental language disorder (DLD), a language disorder with unclear causes. DLD affects communication beyond adolescence and poses challenges for education and career advancement due to difficulties in learning and memory. Recent research suggests that adults with DLD struggle with overnight memory consolidation, indicating a need for effective learning and memory support. This project aims to determine the optimal training schedule for perceptual memory retention in adults with and without DLD. The study involves recruiting 240 adults (120 with DLD, 120 without) for speech-perceptual training with different training schedules. The researchers predict that the manipulation of training schedules will interact with circadian preference and overnight consolidation, leading to the discovery of the best practice schedule for speech sound retention. Additionally, 300 more adults (150 with DLD, 150 without) will be recruited to investigate how optimal training schedules interact with reflexive and reflective learning strategies. The time course of learning and retention will be tracked during reflexive and reflective categorization training in six different training schedules.
Read the detailed description
Developmental language disorder (DLD) describes the idiopathic disorder(s) of language that occurs in approximately 7% of the population. Although DLD is understudied in adulthood, it is clear that the communication challenges in DLD extend beyond adolescence. The barriers to educational and vocational achievement for adults with DLD include persistent difficulties in learning and memory. Recent work suggests that these difficulties with learning and memory include deficits in overnight memory consolidation. Thus, an effective support for learning and memory function in adults with DLD must include strategies for both overcoming initial challenges in learning, as well as in mitigating a deficit in consolidation of learned information. In this project, the investigators combine insights from the neurobiology of learning and memory, chronobiology, and speech perception, to determine the optimal training schedule for perceptual memory retention in adults with and without DLD. The investigators have two Aims in this project: First, the investigators will recruit 240 adults (120 with/120 without DLD) to participate in a speech-perceptual training to take place in one of six different training schedules over 24 hours. The investigators predict that our manipulation of training schedules will interact with circadian preference and timing relative to overnight consolidation, to allow the discovery of the optimal practice schedule for speech sound retention for adult learners with \& without DLD. Under our second aim, the investigators will recruit an additional 300 adults (150 with/150 without DLD) in order to determine how optimal training schedules interact with reflexive and reflective learning strategies in adults with and without DLD. The investigators will achieve this aim by tracking the time course of learning and retention in adults participating in reflexive and reflective categorization training in one of six training schedules.
- Being tested
- Perceptual category training
- Medical subject headings
- Language Development Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Perceptual category trainingBehavioural
Participants complete a forced-choice categorization task with feedback, in order to learn difficult auditory and visual categories
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Blocked Evening Only Training | Experimental | One hour training in the evening, followed by a one hour training 24 hours later Receives: Behavioral: Perceptual category training |
| Distributed Evening Training | Experimental | One hour training in the evening, followed by a two 30 min trainings 12 and 24 hours later Receives: Behavioral: Perceptual category training |
| Blocked Evening-Morning Training | Experimental | One hour training in the evening, followed by a one hour training 12 hours later Receives: Behavioral: Perceptual category training |
| Blocked Morning Only Training | Experimental | One hour training in the morning, followed by a one hour training 24 hours later Receives: Behavioral: Perceptual category training |
| Distributed Morning Training | Experimental | One hour training in the morning, followed by a two 30 min trainings 12 and 24 hours later Receives: Behavioral: Perceptual category training |
| Blocked Morning-Evening Training | Experimental | One hour training in the morning, followed by a one hour training 12 hours later Receives: Behavioral: Perceptual category training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Speech discrimination - behavior
Participants will be administered a short (approximately 4-minute) behavioral task. They will be exposed to two speech sounds, separated by a 1-second interval. Some sounds will begin with the dental stop consonant, and other sounds will begin with the retroflex stop consonant. Participants will be asked to decide if the two sounds they hear are the same or different. Accuracy will be converted to d-prime (a measure of signal detection). This d-prime score will be the primary behavioral outcome for speech discrimination.
Measured: 1 week
category identification - behavior
Participants will be administered a short (approximately 2 minutes) for each modality (auditory and visual). Participants will either hear (auditory - pure tone) or see (visual - gabor patch) a stimulus, and will need to choose which category the stimulus belongs to out of a choice of two. The percentage of trials that are answered correctly will be the primary behavioral outcome for auditory and visual category identification.
Measured: 48 hours
Secondary outcomes (1)
Speech discrimination - Event-related potential of the electroencephalogram (ERP/EEG)
The investigators will fit the participant's head with a pre-positioned electrode cap, with electrolytic gel applied between the electrodes and the scalp. The participants will watch a silent movie while dental and retroflex speech tokens are presented in an oddball paradigm. The investigators will record the participants' electroencephalogram (EEG) while the auditory stimuli are presented. The EEG data will be segmented to examine the fluctuations in voltage recorded at the scalp (in milivolts) for a duration of one second after the onset of each stimulus. The segmented data will be averaged across dental trials, and across the retroflex trials. The resultant waveforms will be subtracted from one another. The peak of the deflection in the difference waveform found approximately 250miliseconds following stimulus onset is the mismatch negativity (MMN) component. The magnitude of the MMN component will be our primary outcome measure.
Measured: 1 event-related potential (ERP) session 1 week following training
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted13 Jun 2023
- Study start23 Oct 2022
- Primary completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Jul 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Developmental Language DisorderStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Participants will be assigned to one of six training schedules to complete over 48 hours. All participants will complete the same amount of training. The investigators will examine retention of trained information at the end of the week.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 540 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Delaware
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Northeastern University
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05901493
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1938428
- Acronym
- Time2Learn
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 19 May 2023
- Last updated
- 29 May 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: de-identified data will be uploaded to the Open Science Framework alongside publications to stem from data from this project
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 29 May 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Improving the Retention of Speech-Perceptual Learning in Adults With and Without Language Disorder
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05901493
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Time2Learn / 1938428
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 540 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of DelawareUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Northeastern University
- Study start
- 23 Oct 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Jul 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 13 Jun 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Approximately 7% of the population experiences developmental language disorder (DLD), a language disorder with unclear causes. DLD affects communication beyond adolescence and poses challenges for education and career advancement due to difficulties in learning and memory. Recent research suggests that adults with DLD struggle with overnight memory consolidation, indicating a need for effective learning and memory support. This project aims to determine the optimal training schedule for perceptual memory retention in adults with and without DLD. The study involves recruiting 240 adults (120 with DLD, 120 without) for speech-perceptual training with different training schedules. The researchers predict that the manipulation of training schedules will interact with circadian preference and overnight consolidation, leading to the discovery of the best practice schedule for speech sound retention. Additionally, 300 more adults (150 with DLD, 150 without) will be recruited to investigate how optimal training schedules interact with reflexive and reflective learning strategies. The time course of learning and retention will be tracked during reflexive and reflective categorization training in six different training schedules.
Detailed description
Developmental language disorder (DLD) describes the idiopathic disorder(s) of language that occurs in approximately 7% of the population. Although DLD is understudied in adulthood, it is clear that the communication challenges in DLD extend beyond adolescence. The barriers to educational and vocational achievement for adults with DLD include persistent difficulties in learning and memory. Recent work suggests that these difficulties with learning and memory include deficits in overnight memory consolidation. Thus, an effective support for learning and memory function in adults with DLD must include strategies for both overcoming initial challenges in learning, as well as in mitigating a deficit in consolidation of learned information. In this project, the investigators combine insights from the neurobiology of learning and memory, chronobiology, and speech perception, to determine the optimal training schedule for perceptual memory retention in adults with and without DLD. The investigators have two Aims in this project: First, the investigators will recruit 240 adults (120 with/120 without DLD) to participate in a speech-perceptual training to take place in one of six different training schedules over 24 hours. The investigators predict that our manipulation of training schedules will interact with circadian preference and timing relative to overnight consolidation, to allow the discovery of the optimal practice schedule for speech sound retention for adult learners with \& without DLD. Under our second aim, the investigators will recruit an additional 300 adults (150 with/150 without DLD) in order to determine how optimal training schedules interact with reflexive and reflective learning strategies in adults with and without DLD. The investigators will achieve this aim by tracking the time course of learning and retention in adults participating in reflexive and reflective categorization training in one of six training schedules.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 6
- Model description
- Participants will be assigned to one of six training schedules to complete over 48 hours. All participants will complete the same amount of training. The investigators will examine retention of trained information at the end of the week.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Blocked Evening Only Training | Experimental | Behavioral: Perceptual category trainingOne hour training in the evening, followed by a one hour training 24 hours later |
| Distributed Evening Training | Experimental | Behavioral: Perceptual category trainingOne hour training in the evening, followed by a two 30 min trainings 12 and 24 hours later |
| Blocked Evening-Morning Training | Experimental | Behavioral: Perceptual category trainingOne hour training in the evening, followed by a one hour training 12 hours later |
| Blocked Morning Only Training | Experimental | Behavioral: Perceptual category trainingOne hour training in the morning, followed by a one hour training 24 hours later |
| Distributed Morning Training | Experimental | Behavioral: Perceptual category trainingOne hour training in the morning, followed by a two 30 min trainings 12 and 24 hours later |
| Blocked Morning-Evening Training | Experimental | Behavioral: Perceptual category trainingOne hour training in the morning, followed by a one hour training 12 hours later |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 55 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- native speakers of American English
- Grew up in a household in which only American English was spoken
- 18-55 years of age
- Typical vision \& hearing
- (Aim 2) access to headphones/devices capable of accessing experiment script via internet
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- History of neurological disorders
- History of psychiatric disorders
- History of socio-emotional disorders
- On prescription medication(s) that alter sleep
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Perceptual category trainingParticipants complete a forced-choice categorization task with feedback, in order to learn difficult auditory and visual categories | Behavioural | Blocked Evening Only Training, Blocked Evening-Morning Training, Blocked Morning Only Training, Blocked Morning-Evening Training, Distributed Evening Training, Distributed Morning Training |
Primary outcome
Speech discrimination - behavior
Time frame: 1 week
Participants will be administered a short (approximately 4-minute) behavioral task. They will be exposed to two speech sounds, separated by a 1-second interval. Some sounds will begin with the dental stop consonant, and other sounds will begin with the retroflex stop consonant. Participants will be asked to decide if the two sounds they hear are the same or different. Accuracy will be converted to d-prime (a measure of signal detection). This d-prime score will be the primary behavioral outcome for speech discrimination.
category identification - behavior
Time frame: 48 hours
Participants will be administered a short (approximately 2 minutes) for each modality (auditory and visual). Participants will either hear (auditory - pure tone) or see (visual - gabor patch) a stimulus, and will need to choose which category the stimulus belongs to out of a choice of two. The percentage of trials that are answered correctly will be the primary behavioral outcome for auditory and visual category identification.
1 secondary outcome
Speech discrimination - Event-related potential of the electroencephalogram (ERP/EEG)
Time frame: 1 event-related potential (ERP) session 1 week following training
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 29 May 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. de-identified data will be uploaded to the Open Science Framework alongside publications to stem from data from this project
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
2 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Perceptual category training in people with Developmental Language Disorder and Adults Without Language Disorder, run by University of Delaware at 2 sites in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 May 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Frances Earle, PhD (6468128376, fsearle@udel.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Speech discrimination - behavior (time frame: 1 week). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 29 May 2026.