An interventional study of Active Comparator: Experimental: Active cathodal tDCS + language training and Sham Comparator: Placebo cathodal tDCS + Speech and language in Stroke and Aphasia, sponsored by University of New Mexico. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 25 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-22.
Sponsored by University of New Mexico · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
62 patients who are one year post stroke and have Aphasia as a result of that stroke will be recruited. Participants will have 4 assessment sessions and 15 treatment sessions. The TDCS will be to right Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG) (25 active, 25 sham) for 15 days. A combined semantic feature analysis/phonological components analysis treatment will be paired with the stimulation. Two assessment sessions will be pretreatment, 1 session immediately post-treatment, and 1 session at 3 months follow-up.
Our long-term goal is to develop safe and effective treatments for the communication problems of Aphasia due to stroke that restore patients to higher levels of functioning, decrease disability, and promote higher quality of life. While language therapy for aphasia is effective, improvements are typically slow, and gains may be small. Noninvasive brain stimulation has been suggested as a method to enhance outcomes from language therapy. This study will examine whether outcomes for language therapy with brain stimulation are different from outcomes for language therapy without brain stimulation in people with aphasia. Our central hypotheses are (1) targeted right hemisphere HDtDCS (RH-HD-tDCS) administered in combination with language treatment will result in greater changes in naming accuracy than language treatment with the sham RH-HD-tDCS (2) RH-HD-tDCS plus language treatment will result in greater increases in communication within the affected hemisphere compared to language treatment plus sham RH-HD-tDCS (3) RH-HD-tDCS plus language treatment will result in greater increases in perilesional areas working together immediately post-treatment compared to language treatment plus sham RH-HD-tDCS
Exclusion Criteria:
In this arm, 31 patients with stroke induced Aphasia will undergo 15 sessions of active tDCS (x 30 minutes of stimulation) combined with 1 hour simultaneous speech-language training on consecutive weekdays.
Device: Active Comparator: Experimental: Active cathodal tDCS + language training
In this arm, 31 patients with stroke induced Aphasia will undergo 15 sessions of sham tDCS (x 30 minutes sham) combined with 1 hour simultaneous speech-language training on consecutive weekdays..
Behavioral: Sham Comparator: Placebo cathodal tDCS + Speech and language
Cathodal tDCS raises neuronal membrane potentials, leading to decreased probability of depolarization from incoming stimuli. Speech and Language training involves a combined semantic feature analysis and phonological components analysis treatment.
Also known as: Behavioral: Speech and Language Training
Speech and Language training involves a combined semantic feature analysis and phonological components analysis treatment. .
Picture Naming of trained items
Change in naming of pictures of trained items; 60 pictured items; higher score indicates improvement
Time frame: 3 months
Naming Response Time of trained items Scales - IV (WAIS-IV; Wechsler, Coalson, & Railford, 2008)
Change in response time of naming of pictures of trained items; 0-20 seconds, decreased response time indicates improvement Scales - IV (WAIS-IV; Wechsler, Coalson, \& Railford, 2008)
Time frame: 3 months
Naming Efficiency of trained items
Change in efficiency of naming of pictures of trained items; median response time divided by proportion correct naming; smaller numbers indicate greater efficiency
Time frame: 3 months
Discourse informativeness - Main Concept Production
Change in discourse informativeness as measured by main concept scores; increased values indicate improvement
Time frame: 3 months
Efficiency of discourse informativeness - Main Concept Production
Change in efficiency of discourse informativeness; accurate and complete main concepts produced over the time of discourse elicitation (ACs/min); larger numbers indicate greater efficiency
Time frame: 3 months
Picture Naming of untrained items - Boston Naming Test
Change in naming of pictures of untrained items; 60 pictured items; higher score indicates improvement
Time frame: 3 months
Naming Response Time of untrained items - Boston Naming Test
Change in response time of naming of pictures of untrained items; 0-20 seconds, decreased response time indicates improvement
Time frame: 3 months
Naming Efficiency of untrained items - Boston Naming Test
Change in efficiency of naming of pictures of untrained items; median response time divided by proportion correct naming; smaller numbers indicate greater efficiency
Time frame: 3 months
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University of New Mexico