Stuttering, AdultNCT07389694
Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Treat Stuttering
A study testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in people with Stuttering, Adult, run by Kansas State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if repeated transcranial magnetic stimuli (rTMS) can treat stuttering in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: Will there be changes in the brains of people who stutter because of the treatment? Will any changes in the brain result in less stuttering?… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Stuttering, Adult
- What is being tested?
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 10 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 15 Feb 2026to 15 Dec 2028
- 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 65 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age from 18 to 65 years
- Self-identifies as a person who currently stutters
- Right-handed or left-handed
- Normal hearing and (corrected) vision
- Able to understand and give informed consent
- Monolingual English speaker
Who cannot join
- Cardiac pacemaker or pacemaker wires; neurostimulators; implanted pumps
- Metal in the body (rods, plates, screws, shrapnel, dentures, IUD) or metallic particles in the eye
- Facial tattoos
- Not having medical insurance
- Surgical clips in the head or previous neurosurgery
- Any magnetic particles in the body
Show all 21Show fewer
- Cochlear implants
- Prosthetic heart valves
- Epilepsy or any other type of seizure history
- History of significant head trauma (i.e., extended loss of consciousness, neurological sequelae)
- Known structural brain lesions
- Pre-existing speech, language, or neurological disorder (except for stuttering)
- Significant other disease (heart disease, malignant tumors, mental disorders)
- Significant claustrophobia; Ménière's disease
- Women who are trying to get pregnant and sexually active women (of reproductive age) not on a reliable contraceptive
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding
- Medications increasing the risk for seizures
- Non-prescribed drug use
- Use of recreational drugs such as medical marijuana
- Failure to perform the behavioral tasks or neuropsychological evaluation tests
- Prisoners
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc contact
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Bluemont Hall, Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas, 66506-7500
Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., D.Sc., 785-532-0805, juliohpavon@ksu.edu
Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., D.Sc.
About this study
Official title: Modulating Bilateral Cortical Activation In Adults Who Stutter: A Pilot Study
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if repeated transcranial magnetic stimuli (rTMS) can treat stuttering in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Will there be changes in the brains of people who stutter because of the treatment?
- Will any changes in the brain result in less stuttering?
Participants will:
- Visit the lab 3 times before treatment for tests
- Complete 10 rTMS sessions
- Visit the lab 2 times after treatment for tests
Read the detailed description
Measures must be obtained to in preparation for TMS treatment. Structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) recordings will be obtained from the participant, and they will undergo a neuronavigational session to determine best placement for the electrodes.
MRI/rsfMRI recordings: The structural MRIs will be obtained and used for TMS neuronavigation. Resting-state functional MRI will be recorded for 8 min with the eyes open. rTMS will be delivered at 10 Hz for 10 min with a stimulation intensity of 120% of the resting motor threshold (rMT).
Neuronavigation: The TMS coil will be navigated with a neuronavigation system using the individual MRIs. rTMS targets: rTMS will be delivered to the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). We will use the neuronavigation system to identify the IFG.
Three pre-treatment and 2 post-treatment sessions will each obtain data from the following measurements:
- rs-EEG: rs-EEG responses will be recorded with eyes open for 5 minutes using a 64-channel EEG system.
- Eye tracker: eye gaze fixations, dwell time, saccades, and gaze durations will be recorded while the participant completes several behavioral phonological memory tasks.
- Spontaneous speech sample will be obtained to determine percent syllables stuttered.
- Conditions
- Stuttering, Adult
- Being tested
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- Keywords
- stuttering, noninvasive treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation, eye tracking, EEG
- Medical subject headings
- Stuttering
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Transcranial Magnetic StimulationDevice
This study uses Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) applied to specific speech and motor areas of the brain to stimulate cortical areas that experience reduced activations during left-hemisphere dominant tasks in people who stutter.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat stuttering | Experimental | There is only one arm to this study. All participants will receive 10 days of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to specific cortical speech and motor areas. Receives: Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Changes in functional connectivity with resting-state electroencephalography (rs-EEG)
A seed-based functional connectivity analysis will be carried out between the two stimulated brain areas. To assess the changes in effective connectivity, the investigators will compare the seed-based connectivity values across sessions.
Measured: Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment.
Changes in behavioral measures of stuttering and phonological processing.
To assess functional changes as a result of rTMS treatment, comparison of eye tracking measurements of duration, dwell time, and number of fixations of eye movements while completing speech and language-based tasks are compared across sessions.
Measured: Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Feb 2026
- Study start15 Feb 2026
- Primary completion15 Dec 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion15 Dec 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (12)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Stuttering, AdultStudies 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
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Model description
- Repeated measures, single subject design
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 10 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Kansas State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Kristin Pelczarski, Kansas State University
- Investigators
- Kristin Pelczarski, Ph.D., Principal investigator, Kansas State UniversityJulio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc, Principal investigator, Kansas State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07389694
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- KPelczarski
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 29 Jan 2026
- Last updated
- 5 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: IPD used in the results publication with be shared with other researchers.
Publications
Ridding MC, Rothwell JC. Is there a future for therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation? Nat Rev Neurosci. 2007 Jul;8(7):559-67. doi: 10.1038/nrn2169.
PubMed 17565358Hernandez-Pavon JC, Harvey RL. Noninvasive Transcranial Magnetic Brain Stimulation in Stroke. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2019 May;30(2):319-335. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2018.12.010. Epub 2019 Feb 21.
PubMed 30954150Hernandez-Pavon JC, Veniero D, Bergmann TO, Belardinelli P, Bortoletto M, Casarotto S, Casula EP, Farzan F, Fecchio M, Julkunen P, Kallioniemi E, Lioumis P, Metsomaa J, Miniussi C, Mutanen TP, Rocchi L, Rogasch NC, Shafi MM, Siebner HR, Thut G, Zrenner C, Ziemann U, Ilmoniemi RJ. TMS combined with EEG: Recommendations and open issues for data collection and analysis. Brain Stimul. 2023 Mar-Apr;16(2):567-593. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.02.009. Epub 2023 Feb 23.
PubMed 36828303Pelczarski KM, Tendera A, Dye M, Loucks TM. Delayed Phonological Encoding in Stuttering: Evidence from Eye Tracking. Lang Speech. 2019 Sep;62(3):475-493. doi: 10.1177/0023830918785203. Epub 2018 Jul 6.
PubMed 29976115Pelczarski KM, Yaruss JS. Phonological memory in young children who stutter. J Commun Disord. 2016 Jul-Aug;62:54-66. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.05.006. Epub 2016 May 17.
PubMed 27280891Pelczarski KM, Yaruss JS. Phonological encoding of young children who stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2014 Mar;39:12-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2013.10.003. Epub 2013 Nov 20.
PubMed 24759190Byrd CT, McGill M, Usler E. Nonword repetition and phoneme elision in adults who do and do not stutter: Vocal versus nonvocal performance differences. J Fluency Disord. 2015 Jun;44:17-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2015.01.004. Epub 2015 Jan 24.
PubMed 25680736Anderson JD, Wagovich SA, Hall NE. Nonword repetition skills in young children who do and do not stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2006;31(3):177-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2006.05.001. Epub 2006 Jun 30.
PubMed 16814376Strand F, Forssberg H, Klingberg T, Norrelgen F. Phonological working memory with auditory presentation of pseudo-words -- an event related fMRI Study. Brain Res. 2008 May 30;1212:48-54. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2008.02.097. Epub 2008 Mar 18.
PubMed 18442810Perrachione TK, Ghosh SS, Ostrovskaya I, Gabrieli JDE, Kovelman I. Phonological Working Memory for Words and Nonwords in Cerebral Cortex. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2017 Jul 12;60(7):1959-1979. doi: 10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-15-0446.
PubMed 28631005Neef NE, Anwander A, Butfering C, Schmidt-Samoa C, Friederici AD, Paulus W, Sommer M. Structural connectivity of right frontal hyperactive areas scales with stuttering severity. Brain. 2018 Jan 1;141(1):191-204. doi: 10.1093/brain/awx316.
PubMed 29228195Neef NE, Hoang TN, Neef A, Paulus W, Sommer M. Speech dynamics are coded in the left motor cortex in fluent speakers but not in adults who stutter. Brain. 2015 Mar;138(Pt 3):712-25. doi: 10.1093/brain/awu390. Epub 2015 Jan 15.
PubMed 25595146
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 5 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Modulating Bilateral Cortical Activation In Adults Who Stutter: A Pilot Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07389694
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- KPelczarski
- Conditions
- Stuttering, Adult
- Keywords
- stuttering, noninvasive treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation, eye tracking, EEG
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 10 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Kansas State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 15 Feb 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Dec 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 15 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 5 Feb 2026 (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.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if repeated transcranial magnetic stimuli (rTMS) can treat stuttering in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Will there be changes in the brains of people who stutter because of the treatment?
- Will any changes in the brain result in less stuttering?
Participants will:
- Visit the lab 3 times before treatment for tests
- Complete 10 rTMS sessions
- Visit the lab 2 times after treatment for tests
Detailed description
Measures must be obtained to in preparation for TMS treatment. Structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) recordings will be obtained from the participant, and they will undergo a neuronavigational session to determine best placement for the electrodes.
MRI/rsfMRI recordings: The structural MRIs will be obtained and used for TMS neuronavigation. Resting-state functional MRI will be recorded for 8 min with the eyes open. rTMS will be delivered at 10 Hz for 10 min with a stimulation intensity of 120% of the resting motor threshold (rMT).
Neuronavigation: The TMS coil will be navigated with a neuronavigation system using the individual MRIs. rTMS targets: rTMS will be delivered to the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). We will use the neuronavigation system to identify the IFG.
Three pre-treatment and 2 post-treatment sessions will each obtain data from the following measurements:
- rs-EEG: rs-EEG responses will be recorded with eyes open for 5 minutes using a 64-channel EEG system.
- Eye tracker: eye gaze fixations, dwell time, saccades, and gaze durations will be recorded while the participant completes several behavioral phonological memory tasks.
- Spontaneous speech sample will be obtained to determine percent syllables stuttered.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
- Model description
- Repeated measures, single subject design
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat stuttering | Experimental | Device: Transcranial Magnetic StimulationThere is only one arm to this study. All participants will receive 10 days of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to specific cortical speech and motor areas. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Age from 18 to 65 years
- Self-identifies as a person who currently stutters
- Right-handed or left-handed
- Normal hearing and (corrected) vision
- Able to understand and give informed consent
Key exclusion criteria (21 listed)
- Cardiac pacemaker or pacemaker wires; neurostimulators; implanted pumps
- Metal in the body (rods, plates, screws, shrapnel, dentures, IUD) or metallic particles in the eye
- Facial tattoos
- Not having medical insurance
- Surgical clips in the head or previous neurosurgery
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Transcranial Magnetic StimulationThis study uses Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) applied to specific speech and motor areas of the brain to stimulate cortical areas that experience reduced activations during left-hemisphere dominant tasks in people who stutter. | Device | Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat stuttering |
Primary outcome
Changes in functional connectivity with resting-state electroencephalography (rs-EEG)
Time frame: Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment.
A seed-based functional connectivity analysis will be carried out between the two stimulated brain areas. To assess the changes in effective connectivity, the investigators will compare the seed-based connectivity values across sessions.
Changes in behavioral measures of stuttering and phonological processing.
Time frame: Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment.
To assess functional changes as a result of rTMS treatment, comparison of eye tracking measurements of duration, dwell time, and number of fixations of eye movements while completing speech and language-based tasks are compared across sessions.
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 5 Aug 2026.
- Background: PubMed 17565358Ridding MC, Rothwell JC. Is there a future for therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation? Nat Rev Neurosci. 2007 Jul;8(7):559-67. doi: 10.1038/nrn2169.
- Background: PubMed 30954150Hernandez-Pavon JC, Harvey RL. Noninvasive Transcranial Magnetic Brain Stimulation in Stroke. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2019 May;30(2):319-335. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2018.12.010. Epub 2019 Feb 21.
- Background: PubMed 36828303Hernandez-Pavon JC, Veniero D, Bergmann TO, Belardinelli P, Bortoletto M, Casarotto S, Casula EP, Farzan F, Fecchio M, Julkunen P, Kallioniemi E, Lioumis P, Metsomaa J, Miniussi C, Mutanen TP, Rocchi L, Rogasch NC, Shafi MM, Siebner HR, Thut G, Zrenner C, Ziemann U, Ilmoniemi RJ. TMS combined with EEG: Recommendations and open issues for data collection and analysis. Brain Stimul. 2023 Mar-Apr;16(2):567-593. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.02.009. Epub 2023 Feb 23.
- Background: PubMed 29976115Pelczarski KM, Tendera A, Dye M, Loucks TM. Delayed Phonological Encoding in Stuttering: Evidence from Eye Tracking. Lang Speech. 2019 Sep;62(3):475-493. doi: 10.1177/0023830918785203. Epub 2018 Jul 6.
- Background: PubMed 27280891Pelczarski KM, Yaruss JS. Phonological memory in young children who stutter. J Commun Disord. 2016 Jul-Aug;62:54-66. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.05.006. Epub 2016 May 17.
- Background: PubMed 24759190Pelczarski KM, Yaruss JS. Phonological encoding of young children who stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2014 Mar;39:12-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2013.10.003. Epub 2013 Nov 20.
- Background: PubMed 25680736Byrd CT, McGill M, Usler E. Nonword repetition and phoneme elision in adults who do and do not stutter: Vocal versus nonvocal performance differences. J Fluency Disord. 2015 Jun;44:17-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2015.01.004. Epub 2015 Jan 24.
- Background: PubMed 16814376Anderson JD, Wagovich SA, Hall NE. Nonword repetition skills in young children who do and do not stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2006;31(3):177-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2006.05.001. Epub 2006 Jun 30.
- Background: PubMed 18442810Strand F, Forssberg H, Klingberg T, Norrelgen F. Phonological working memory with auditory presentation of pseudo-words -- an event related fMRI Study. Brain Res. 2008 May 30;1212:48-54. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2008.02.097. Epub 2008 Mar 18.
- Background: PubMed 28631005Perrachione TK, Ghosh SS, Ostrovskaya I, Gabrieli JDE, Kovelman I. Phonological Working Memory for Words and Nonwords in Cerebral Cortex. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2017 Jul 12;60(7):1959-1979. doi: 10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-15-0446.
- Background: PubMed 29228195Neef NE, Anwander A, Butfering C, Schmidt-Samoa C, Friederici AD, Paulus W, Sommer M. Structural connectivity of right frontal hyperactive areas scales with stuttering severity. Brain. 2018 Jan 1;141(1):191-204. doi: 10.1093/brain/awx316.
- Background: PubMed 25595146Neef NE, Hoang TN, Neef A, Paulus W, Sommer M. Speech dynamics are coded in the left motor cortex in fluent speakers but not in adults who stutter. Brain. 2015 Mar;138(Pt 3):712-25. doi: 10.1093/brain/awu390. Epub 2015 Jan 15.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. IPD used in the results publication with be shared with other researchers.
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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.
Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc contact
Kristin Pelczarski, Ph.D. principal investigator
Kansas State University
Julio Hernandez Pavon, Ph.D., DSc principal investigator
Kansas State University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in people with Stuttering, Adult, run by Kansas State University at 1 site 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 21 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 5 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site 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 Kristin Pelczarski, Ph.D. (785-532-6879, kpelczar@ksu.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Changes in functional connectivity with resting-state electroencephalography (rs-EEG) (time frame: Baseline, immediately post-treatment, and one week after post-treatment.). 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?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07389694, which also lists 12 linked publications.
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 5 Aug 2026.