Taking people in United StatesNo phase

Brain scans after vibration on the throat in laryngeal dystonia

Studies how vibration near the voice box affects speech and brain networks.

Key facts

Who runs it: University of Minnesota
Where: Minneapolis, United StatesSee the site
Trial code: NCT07443891
Registry title: Brain Network Changes After Vibro-tactile Stimulation in Laryngeal Dystonia
Status: Recruiting
People taking part: 20 people, planned
Started: 14 Jan 2026
Expected to end: 28 Feb 2027
Type of study: Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested: Vibrotactile Stimulation (VTS)
Record updated: 19 March 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults with laryngeal dystonia, a condition causing voice muscle spasms. Healthy adults can also join as a comparison group.

Age: 18 to 75 years
Sex: All sexes
Disease stage: Laryngeal dystonia diagnosed by a voice disorder specialist and confirmed by Dr. Misono, UM Otolaryngology. Healthy volunteers must have no known nerve or bone problems affecting speech.
Earlier treatment: People who regularly take benzodiazepines cannot join. People who started chemotherapy or immunomodulatory agents, or had radiation that could affect the brain, cannot join.

Main reasons for not taking part

Score below 27 on the Mini-mental state examination or above 19 on the Beck depression inventory
Other nerve or muscle conditions affecting speech, such as Parkinsonism, stroke, brain tumor or multiple sclerosis
Implanted devices or metal in the body, such as pacemakers, cochlear implants or aneurysm clips
Pregnancy, or noticeable anxiety or fear of closed spaces
Heart or circulation problems, psychiatric disorder, substance abuse, or serious head injury

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 34 criteriaShow less

Other criteria

LD Inclusion Criteria:
Diagnosis of laryngeal dystonia previously made by a voice disorder specialist and confirmed by Dr. Misono, UM Otolaryngology; LD Exclusion Criteria:
Regular intake of benzodiazepines
Cognitive impairment: score < 27 on Mini-mental state examination; score > 19 on Beck depression inventory
Identifies with a neurological or musculoskeletal impairment affecting speech motor function. These impairments may include a form of: Dyskinesia, Dystonia, Essential Tremor, Huntington's Disease, Multiple System Atrophy, Muscle Tension Dysphonia, Parkinsonism, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Spasticity, Intracranial Neoplasm (brain tumor), Spinal Neoplasm, Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke), Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Intracranial Hemorrhage, Multiple Sclerosis
Subjects with any type of bio-implant activated by mechanical, electronic, or magnetic means (e.g. cochlear implants, pacemakers, neurostimulators, biostimulators, electronic infusion pumps, etc.)
Subjects with any type of ferromagnetic bio-implant that could potentially be displaced or damaged, such as aneurysm clips, metallic skull plates, etc
Pregnant females (if questionable doubt, self-test with over-the-counter pregnancy kit)
Subjects that exhibit noticeable anxiety and/or claustrophobia
Subjects who have cardiac or known circulatory impairment, and/or the inability to perspire (poor thermoregulatory function)
Subjects who have known conditions which can lead to emergency medical care
Subjects who have been diagnosed by a physician as having a psychiatric disorder, substance abuse, neurological, or cardiovascular disease, had a brain tumor or stroke, started taking chemotherapy or immunomodulatory agents, or had any radiation treatment that could affect the brain
Subjects who have gotten a non-removable piercing or permanent eyeliner
Subjects who have had a head injury that caused the loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes or have amnesia for more than 24 hours
Anyone with a history of head trauma that may have caused Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or some type of metal in the body, either from a medical procedure or an injury
Any subject with a professional or academic link to one of the PIs
We will not enroll vulnerable populations (i.e., fetuses, neonates, pregnant women, children under the age of 18 years, or prisoners); Healthy Controls Inclusion Criteria:
Healthy adults, aged 18-75 years with no known neurological or orthopedic deficits that may affect speech motor functions; Healthy Controls Exclusion Criteria:
No history of impairments affecting speech or voice function
Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) score above normative cut-off values
Regular intake of benzodiazepines
Cognitive impairment: score < 27 on Mini-mental state examination; score > 19 on Beck depression inventory
Subjects with any type of bio-implant activated by mechanical, electronic, or magnetic means (e.g. cochlear implants, pacemakers, neurostimulators, biostimulators, electronic infusion pumps, etc.)
Subjects with any type of ferromagnetic bio-implant that could potentially be displaced or damaged, such as aneurysm clips, metallic skull plates, etc
Pregnant females (if questionable doubt, self-test with over-the-counter pregnancy kit)
Subjects that exhibit noticeable anxiety and/or claustrophobia
Subjects who have cardiac or known circulatory impairment, and/or the inability to perspire (poor thermoregulatory function)
Subjects who have known conditions which can lead to emergency medical care
Subjects who have been diagnosed by a physician as having a psychiatric disorder, substance abuse, neurological, or cardiovascular disease, had a brain tumor or stroke, started taking chemotherapy or immunomodulatory agents, or had any radiation treatment that could affect the brain
Subjects who have gotten a non-removable piercing or permanent eyeliner
Subjects who have had a head injury that caused the loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes or have amnesia for more than 24 hours
Anyone with a history of head trauma that may have caused Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or some type of metal in the body, either from a medical procedure or an injury
Any subject with a professional or academic link to one of the PIs
We will not enroll vulnerable populations (i.e., fetuses, neonates, pregnant women, children under the age of 18 years, or prisoners)

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

Are you between 18 and 75 years old?

Where in United States

University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, United StatesContact: Jürgen Konczak, PhD, Dr. rer. nat. habil.Taking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

Laryngeal dystonia (LD) is a focal dystonia affecting laryngeal muscles, causing involuntary spasms that impair speech production. Recent research demonstrated that non-invasive vibrotactile stimulation (VTS) of the laryngeal area can provide acute symptom relief in up to 57% of patients, with improvements in voice quality and reductions in perceived speech effort lasting from minutes to several days. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this therapeutic effect and the factors determining individual treatment response remain incompletely understood. The objective is to evaluate the acute effects of VTS on voice and speech parameters in participants with LD while characterizing associated changes in brain resting-state networks using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The 2 groups in the trial

Laryngeal Dystonia PatientsExisting treatment, for comparison
Treatment: Vibrotactile Stimulation (VTS)
Healthy ControlsExisting treatment, for comparison
Treatment: Vibrotactile Stimulation (VTS)