NCT07215884

Dopamine and Sensorimotor Function in Stuttering

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 1
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study is being done to understand the effect of aripiprazole on adults who stutter. Stuttering is a disorder that affects speech fluency. This study aims to understand sensorimotor pathways of stuttering and possible interventions.

Detailed description

Stuttering is a disorder of speech fluency that affects 3.5 million people in the USA alone. The goal of this project is to assess whether fluency ehnancement with auditory feedback manipulations or with pharmacological agents that regulate dopamine uptake improve the sensorimotor functions of speech feedback prediction and processing in stuttering. This study may lay the foundation for stuttering treatments that combine dopamine regulators and behavioral treatments. Aripiprazole is an FDA-approved anti-psychotic typically used for treatment of schizophrenia or acute manic episodes. A typical dose is 10-15 mg per day, given daily for treatment. In this study, one 10 mg dose will be given. The usage in this study is purely investigational (experimental) and not FDA approved.

Conditions

• Stuttering, Adult

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Aripiprazole 10 MG	The effects of aripiprazole on stuttering and various behavioral and neural outcomes will be studied compared to placebo.
DRUG	Placebo	Placebo will be compared against aripiprazole for effect on stuttering and various behavioral and neural markers.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-09-30
• Primary completion: 2026-06-30
• Completion: 2026-06-30
• First posted: 2025-10-14
• Last updated: 2025-10-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study