Functional reorganization of language and general brain networks in aphasia
Official title: Functional reorganization and recovery of the language and domain-general multiple demand systems in aphasia
Funded at Boston University (Charles River Campus) · NIH-11465093 · Data updated 2026-11-12
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.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston University (Charles River Campus) NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $704,116 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DC023439-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11465093 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with post-stroke aphasia who can participate in MRI studies and language tasks.
✕Less likely to help
People without aphasia or unable to undergo MRI may not benefit directly.
What this research studies
If you have aphasia after a stroke, researchers will scan your brain while you do language and difficulty tasks to see how language areas and the broader brain networks work together during recovery. They will compare people with aphasia to healthy age‑matched controls and examine how structural brain damage relates to network activation. The study will also look at how treatment changes brain activity in language and domain-general networks over time. The approach combines lesion mapping, functional MRI tasks, and naturalistic language paradigms to understand when and how the Multiple Demand network supports language recovery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: A better understanding of brain recovery could lead to more targeted language therapies for aphasia.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work suggests the MD network can support language after language-area damage, but more work is needed to understand when and how.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston University (Charles River Campus)
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kiran, Swathi — Boston University (Charles River Campus)
- Study coordinator: Kiran, Swathi
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Music-based intervention to help people with aphasia recover language and thinking skills after stroke
A Purdue-led study tests whether listening to music can help adults with aphasia after a stroke improve language and thinking abilities.
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.