Residual Aphasia
Conditions
Brief summary
The present study assesses whether language functions in patients with residual post-stroke aphasia can be improved by transcranial direct current stimulation administered to the primary motor cortex in the language dominant (left) hemisphere.
Detailed description
Patients will participate in two tDCS sessions (atDCS; sham) in a cross-over within subjects design. tDCS or placebo will be administered during simulatneous fMRI to assess neural signatures of the stimulation. Order of stimulation will be counterbalanced between subjects
Interventions
DEVICEatDCS
atDCS will be delivered with a constant current of 1 mA during simultaneous resting-state (RS) and task-related (picture naming) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The current will be turned on prior to the RS-fMRI scan and continues for 20 minutes.
DEVICEsham tDCS
During sham the current will be increeased and decreased in a ramp-like fashion (10 sec)
Sponsors
Charite University, Berlin, Germany
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* right handedness * German native speaker * cerebrovascular stroke in left hemisphere (\>6 months) * mild aphasia (according to Aachen Aphasia Test Battery Classification, Huber et al., 1983) * residual anomia in naming test (\>75 correct responses)
Exclusion criteria
* other current or previous neurological or psychiatric diseases * alcohol or drug abuse * MRI contraindication (e.g. magnetic metal, pacemaker, claustrophobia)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Response latency during picture naming task (max. 80) | Change in response latency between assessment 1 (week 1) and assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week | Subjects are assessed in a cross-over design. The primary outcome measure will be assessed twice in each subject, either during placebo (sham) stimulation or active (anodal) stimulation with transcranial direct current stimulation. Order of stimulation will be counterbalanced across the group. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in neural activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging | Change in fMRI activity between Assessment 1 (week 1) and Assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Primary ContactRobert Darkow, MSc
Outcome results
None listed