Why one side of the brain loses language in primary progressive aphasia
Official title: ASYMMETRIC NEURODEGENERATION AND LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE APHASIA
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11372834 · Data updated 2026-11-12
It looks at how different brain diseases cause one-sided language loss in people with primary progressive aphasia and which imaging, fluid, and genetic signs go along with each cause.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | June 15, 2022 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $2,098,422 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG077444-20 |
| Project ID | NIH-11372834 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia who can come for regular cognitive testing and brain imaging and are willing to provide blood/CSF samples (and consider brain donation) are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without primary progressive aphasia or those unwilling to undergo imaging or provide biological samples are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you join, the team will follow people with primary progressive aphasia over time with regular language tests, brain scans, and genetic and biofluid sampling. Your samples and data become part of a large, well-curated registry that the group has built over years. Researchers will group participants by the actual brain pathology (the underlying disease) rather than just the clinical language type and compare left-versus-right hemisphere changes using imaging, molecular markers, and gene expression. The aim is to find biological patterns that explain why the language-dominant (usually left) side is most affected and why memory can remain relatively spared.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors more accurately link a patient's language symptoms to the underlying disease and guide more targeted treatments or trial options.
How similar studies have gone: Northwestern's long-running PPA cohort has already produced useful findings, and this project builds on that success while adding new molecular and hemispheric comparisons.
Where this research is happening
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Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mesulam, Marek-Marsel M — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Mesulam, Marek-Marsel M
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.
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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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Communication Bridge helps people with primary progressive aphasia talk more clearly
Aimed at people with primary progressive aphasia, this project tests a speech-language and psychosocial program delivered by telepractice to improve daily communication and quality of life.
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Transcranial current therapy for language in progressive aphasia
A world-class team is testing a painless brain-stimulation method to help people with primary progressive aphasia say more words and names.
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Improving communication support for people with primary progressive aphasia
This project improves and delivers an evidence-based speech and communication program to help people with primary progressive aphasia and their care partners, including through telehealth.
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Primary Progressive Aphasia: How speech and language decline happens and progresses
This grant studies a brain disease called primary progressive aphasia to understand why speech and language slip up over time.
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.