Federal Project Grant Award Summary

New York University School of Medicine received $685,327 in funding from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) under the Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders program (CFDA 93.173) for the project "Cortical Mechanisms of Normal and Disordered Human Speech." The award period runs from July 1, 2026 through April 30, 2031.

This research project will deliver scientific investigation into the neural mechanisms underlying speech planning in both healthy individuals and those with Parkinson's disease (PD). The research team will employ electrocorticography (ECoG) and advanced neuroimaging techniques to map cortical networks involved in speech planning, with particular focus on the caudal middle frontal gyrus. Across three coordinated aims, the study will examine large-scale cortical network activation during speech planning, characterize speech planning activity using high-density ECoG recordings, and analyze neural circuit-level responses at ultrahigh resolution. The project integrates multidisciplinary expertise in neurosurgery, systems neuroscience, and speech disorders to determine whether PD disrupts cortical planning dynamics and to identify the relationship between local and global neural responses during normal and disordered speech production.