Better tests of how people with aphasia pay attention to sounds
Official title: Optimizing the assessment of auditory attention in aphasia
Funded at Purdue University · NIH-11251312 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a short hearing-based attention test to help tailor therapy for people with aphasia after stroke.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Purdue University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Lafayette, United States) |
| Project start | January 5, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $189,720 |
| NIH project number | 5R21DC021481-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251312 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with aphasia (typically after left-hemisphere stroke) who can follow simple task instructions and have sufficient hearing to complete brief auditory tests.
✕Less likely to help
People without aphasia, those with severe uncorrected hearing loss, or individuals too medically or cognitively unstable to complete in-person testing may not benefit from participating.
What this research studies
If you have aphasia, the team will give a quick, 5–10 minute hearing-based attention task that measures different kinds of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control). They plan to adapt the Attention Network Test so it works with sounds rather than visuals and is usable for people with language problems. The researchers will compare how well the hearing version detects attention problems that matter for recovery and treatment response. The goal is to make a practical tool clinicians can use to spot attention issues that might affect your language therapy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help therapists identify hearing-focused attention problems and personalize language rehabilitation to improve recovery.
How similar studies have gone: Related tests (the visual Attention Network Test) have been used widely and attention measures predict aphasia outcomes, but adapting the ANT for auditory attention in aphasia is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Purdue University
West Lafayette, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lacroix, Arianna — Purdue University
- Study coordinator: Lacroix, Arianna
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Communication Bridge: Improving language therapy for people with primary progressive aphasia
A proven language-therapy program called Communication Bridge helps people with primary progressive aphasia improve and maintain how they communicate with others.
-
Neural signals linked to recovery from aphasia after stroke
This grant follows people who recently had a stroke and aphasia to understand why some recover language abilities better than others.
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Bilingualism and language resilience in Hispanic people with primary progressive aphasia
Researchers compare different bilingual experiences to see how they relate to language decline and thinking skills in Hispanic adults with primary progressive aphasia.
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Functional reorganization of language and general brain networks in aphasia
This project studies how language areas and general brain networks work together to help people recover language after a stroke, by looking at brain activity and responses to language tasks.
-
eSANA: revealing and improving AAC use after stroke for aphasia
A project to explore how people with aphasia after a stroke can best use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) during early rehabilitation.
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Cortical Organization of Syntax in Aphasia
A patient-facing study to understand how brain injury affects sentence structure and help people with aphasia communicate more clearly.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.