Using brain stimulation to improve language skills in people with chronic aphasia after a stroke

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This study evaluates the impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with speech-language therapy on language abilities in individuals with chronic aphasia resulting from a stroke. Participants will undergo behavioral assessments and brain scans before and after an 8-week therapy period, during which they will receive tDCS twice a week. The study aims to determine if the brain stimulation enhances the effectiveness of the therapy by measuring changes in language performance. Participants will be screened for eligibility based on their medical history and ability to complete required tasks.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

This study recruits individuals with post-stroke aphasia as well as a group of healthy volunteers matched for age, sex, and education.

INCLUSION Criteria:

* Right handed (pre-stroke for participants with aphasia)
* High school education or equivalent
* Native English fluency without early 2nd language exposure (before age 10)
* Ability to perform the required discourse and MRI tasks (determined via in-person screening)

Additional INCLUSION Criteria for participants with APHASIA:

* Single-event left hemisphere stroke \> 6 months prior to enrollment
* Aphasia diagnosis per Western Aphasia Battery-Revised
* Not receiving any other speech therapy for the entire study period (20 weeks)
* Ability to perform the required therapy tasks (determined via in-person screening)

EXCLUSION Criteria:

* Failed vision or hearing screening
* MRI contraindications (including pacemaker)
* Pregnancy
* History of seizure or change in seizure medication in past 12 months
* History of speech/language, psychiatric, or neurological disorder, or current serious medical condition (except chronic stroke comorbidities for participants with aphasia)

Additional EXCLUSION criteria for participants with APHASIA are:

* Unmodifiable hair style precluding scalp contact by electrodes
* Sensitive scalp by self-report

Where it's running

• City University of New York
  New York, New York, United States Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: E. Susan Duncan, PhD, CCC-SLP — City University of New York
• Study coordinator: E. Susan Duncan, PhD, CCC-SLP
• Email: esduncan@gc.cuny.edu
• Phone: 212 817 8804

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Tailoring rTMS for Post-Stroke Aphasia Based on Language Profile

  A non-drug brain stimulation approach is tested to see if customizing rTMS targets improves language recovery in people with aphasia after a left-brain stroke.

  Recruiting University of South Carolina · Columbia, South Carolina · NCT07608588

• tDCS in Rehab for Stroke-Related Aphasia: A Practical Implementation

  This study tests whether a 20-minute anodal tDCS session paired with speech therapy can be integrated into routine inpatient and outpatient rehab for people who recently had a stroke and now have aphasia.

  Recruiting Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare · Pomona, California · NCT07535788

• Decoding Mandarin speech features from brain-surface signals

  This project will try to decode imagined Mandarin speech, including lexical tones, from high-density brain-surface (ECoG) signals in adult patients who are having clinically indicated cortical electrode placement.

  Recruiting Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · Hangzhou, Zhejiang · NCT07460037

• Digital speech-therapy app Zenicom for subacute post-stroke aphasia in Korean speakers

  This trial will try the Zenicom digital speech-therapy app alongside conventional therapy to see if it helps Korean adults with aphasia after a recent (within 3 months) stroke.

  Recruiting at 3 sites Phase 2 Seoul National University Bundang Hospital · Seongnam-si and 2 other locations · NCT07397923

• Deep phenotyping to explore recovery in young adults after stroke

  This project will test whether a detailed health and sample-collection approach (deep phenotyping) is practical and acceptable for people aged 18–55 who have had a stroke.

  Recruiting The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health · Heidelberg, Victoria and 1 other locations · NCT07019493

• TMS plus language therapy to improve word-finding after left-hemisphere stroke

  Researchers will try excitatory transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with semantic feature analysis language therapy to improve word-finding in adults with aphasia after left-hemisphere stroke.

  Recruiting Medical College of Wisconsin · Milwaukee, Wisconsin · NCT06974279

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.