Improving Aphasia Using Electrical Brain Stimulation
United States23 participantsStarted 2021-07-12
Plain-language summary
Language and communication are essential for almost every aspect of human life, but for people who have aphasia, a language processing disorder that can occur after stroke or brain injury, even simple conversations can become a formidable challenge. Speech and language therapy can help people recover their language ability, but often requires months or even years of therapy before a person is able to overcome these challenges. This research will investigate non-invasive brain stimulation as a way to enhance the effects of speech and language therapy, which may ultimately lead to better and faster recovery from stroke and aphasia. The investigators hypothesize that participants with aphasia who receive speech and language therapy paired with active electrical brain stimulation will improve significantly more on a language comprehension task than those who receive speech and language therapy paired with sham stimulation.
Who can participate
Age range18 Years
SexALL
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AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Inclusion criteria
✓. 18 years or older.
✓. No diagnosis of neurological disorder (other than stroke).
✓. No diagnosis of psychiatric disorder.
✓. No seizure within the past 6 months.
✓. Not pregnant.
✓. In chronic phase of recovery, defined as at least 6 months post-stroke.
✓. Not undergoing speech and language therapy targeting auditory comprehension or attention for the duration of the study.
✓. No metal implants in the head.
Exclusion criteria
✕. Younger than 18 years old.
✕. Diagnosis or history of neurological disorder other than stroke.
✕. Diagnosis or history of psychiatric disorder.
What they're measuring
1
Language Specific Attention Treatment Probe
Timeframe: Pre-treatment: Baseline measure collected before treatment; Post-treatment: 5-6 weeks after baseline; Follow-up: 10-11 weeks after baseline
✕. \<6 months post-stroke (however, if this is only exclusionary criterion met, participant can be re-evaluated at the 6-month mark if still interested in the study)
✕. Currently undergoing speech and language therapy targeting auditory comprehension or attention.