Music-based intervention to help people with aphasia recover language and thinking skills after stroke
Official title: Feasibility of a music-based intervention to promote cognitive-linguistic and neural recovery in aphasia
Funded at Purdue University · NIH-11443727 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A Purdue-led study tests whether listening to music can help adults with aphasia after a stroke improve language and thinking abilities.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Purdue University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Lafayette, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $718,733 |
| NIH project number | 1R34AT013594-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11443727 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (21+) who have aphasia after stroke and are willing to participate in a music-based intervention.
✕Less likely to help
Some individuals with aphasia may not respond to music-based strategies or may have barriers to participation.
What this research studies
This project explores a music-based approach to support cognitive and language recovery for adults who have aphasia after stroke. It builds on prior findings that music can boost attention and brain networks involved in language, and it aims to test a feasible intervention over three study arms. Participants will be adults 21 and older with acquired language disorders, and the study will monitor attention, language, and overall quality of life as outcomes. The results could guide future therapies that combine music with speech and cognitive training to enhance recovery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the intervention could become a non-drug option to improve language and thinking skills after stroke.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary data suggest music listening can improve attention in people with aphasia, supporting potential benefit.
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.