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RecruitingNCT07700537Updated Jul 17, 2026

Efficacy and Neural Mechanisms of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Targeting the Supplementary Motor Area for the Treatment of Subacute Post-stroke Aphasia

An interventional study of transcranial direct current stimulation in Post-stroke Aphasia, sponsored by The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-17.

Sponsored by The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 11 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jul 2025, registered Jul 2026).
  • Started Jul 2025; still recruiting 1 year 3 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study aims to investigate the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients with post-stroke aphasia (PSA) and to explore its potential neural mechanisms. The study will recruit PSA patients and provide them with 14 tDCS sessions over 7 days, along with speech therapy. Language Behavior Scale scores and resting-state functional MRI scans will be collected before and after the intervention. In addition, a retrospective comparison will be conducted of language function and resting-state fMRI changes in a group of PSA patients who received only speech therapy; these patients did not undergo any physical intervention but received only speech therapy. Changes in Language Behavior Scale scores and functional connectivity (FC) before and after treatment in the speech therapy-only group will be analyzed and compared with those in the tDCS intervention group.

02

Conditions studied

  • Post-stroke Aphasia

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Keywords

  • post-stroke aphasia
  • supplementary motor area
  • transcranial direct current stimulation
03

In context

Aphasia

338 studies on the registry are indexed under Aphasia; 95 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 40 is above the median of 30 across 298 interventional studies indexed under Aphasia.

Browse Aphasia studies →

Lead sponsor

The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University is the lead sponsor of 43 studies on the registry; 17 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients must be between 18 and 80 years of age
  • First stroke in the left hemisphere
  • Stroke onset within the past 12 weeks
  • Native Chinese speakers who were able to communicate normally prior to onset
  • Diagnosed with aphasia using the ABC scale
  • Right-handed
  • obtained from the patient and family members

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Time since stroke onset exceeds 12 weeks
  • History of psychiatric or neurological disorders
  • History of surgery for severe head trauma, brain tumors, or brain abscesses
  • Severe articulation disorders
  • Claustrophobia or implants incompatible with MRI
  • Inability to cooperate with language scale testing or fMRI scanning
  • History of previous stroke
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
40 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    tDCS group

    PSA patients enrolled in the tDCS group received tDCS treatment twice daily for 7 consecutive days, along with 7 days of speech-language therapy. The current intensity was 2 mA, and each treatment session lasted 20 minutes.

    Other: transcranial direct current stimulation

  • No intervention
    The speech-language therapy group

    The speech-language therapy group received only 7 days of speech-language therapy.

Interventions

  • Othertranscranial direct current stimulation

    As a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, tDCS offers advantages such as convenience, safety, and low cost. Its mechanism of action involves regulating neuronal activity in the brain by applying a weak direct current to the scalp.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Aphasia quotient (AQ)

    The Aphasia Battery of Chinese (ABC) is a standardized Chinese adaptation of the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). The Aphasia Quotient (AQ) is a composite score that reflects the overall severity of language impairment. The AQ score ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100. Higher scores indicate better language function (i.e., less severe impairment).

    Time frame: Baseline, immediately after all interventions have ended

Secondary outcomes

  1. rs-fMRI

    Time frame: Baseline, immediately after all interventions have ended

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
    Hefei, Anhui, China
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be shared with other researchers due to patient privacy protection and the limitations of the informed consent form.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 17, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07700537
Lead sponsor
The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University
Responsible party
Panpan Hu, MD (Head of Neurology Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jul 14, 2026
Start date
Jul 30, 2025
Primary completion
Jan 1, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jan 31, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Jul 17, 2026

Study contacts

Jian Guan
Contact
1003935828@qq.com
+86-19810696998

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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