Take part: study into brain activity in people who stammer

The Experimental Psychology department at Oxford University invite you to take part in their stammering research project. (Posted 11th August 2023)

PhD student Birtan Demirel says, "Speech is a remarkably complex motor skill involving the precise coordination of about 100 muscles. We want to understand how the brain processes and produces speech, and how this differs in people who stammer".

The team hope the findings could help the design of more effective approaches for people who want to work on their fluency.

What will it involve?

They're looking for people who can travel to Oxford University to take part in-person. For the study, they'll measure your brain activity while you perform certain tasks. This will involve taking non-invasive scans. Firstly, they'll measure your brain waves with an MEG (or 'magnetoencephalography') scan. Then they'll use an MRI scan to create images of your brain.

You'll need to attend two sessions. The first will last 2-and-a-half hours and the second will take 30 minutes. The team will pay you for your time and they'll reimburse reasonable travel costs.

Can I take part?

The team are looking for people who stammer and people who don't. You need to be:

• aged 18-45
• a native English speaker.

Contact

If you match their requirements and would like to get involved, or if you want more details, email the team at instep@psy.ox.ac.uk

GET INVOLVED IN OTHER RESEARCH

If you're interested in stammering research, come to the next online STAMMA Research Arena on Saturday 16th September. There you can have an input into new projects.

To see what other research projects you can take part in, see our Studies Looking for Participants page.