Retrieval Practice for Aphasia Rehab: How to help people with aphasia learn better
Official title: Retrieval Practice Principles: A Theory of Learning for Aphasia Rehabilitaion
Funded at Thomas Jefferson University · NIH-11393830 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aphasia patients could benefit from a learning approach called retrieval practice that helps improve word retrieval and language skills.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Thomas Jefferson University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2017 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $609,347 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DC015516-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11393830 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with aphasia who are undergoing language or word retrieval rehabilitation.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without aphasia or those unable to participate in word-retrieval therapy may not benefit.
What this research studies
This grant focuses on a learning theory called retrieval practice to guide how therapy for aphasia is structured. It explores how practicing recalling words, with feedback and spaced trials, affects how people with aphasia relearn language. The research builds on previous findings that trying to retrieve a word and getting correct feedback strengthens later naming more than simply repeating a correct answer. The study aims to broaden the clinical relevance of these principles so therapies can be tailored to individual patients. It is conducted at Thomas Jefferson University with a dedicated team led by Erica L. Middleton.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, therapies for aphasia could become more efficient and personalized, helping patients regain communication skills faster.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier work shows retrieval practice can improve naming in aphasia; this renewal aims to expand and optimize those gains.
Where this research is happening
-
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Middleton, Erica Lee — Thomas Jefferson University
- Study coordinator: Middleton, Erica Lee
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.
-
Functional reorganization of language and general brain networks in aphasia
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-
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.