Brain Stimulation and Aphasia Treatment

Completed · Phase 2 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Aphasia

In brief

The purpose of this study is to assess the changes in language processing of patients with chronic, post-stroke aphasia following the application of brain stimulation. The brain stimulation the investigators administer is called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). It involves passing a weak electrical current through the brain between two electrodes in the form of damp sponges. One sponge will be placed over a specified area on the damaged left hemisphere, while the other sponge will be placed on the right scalp. Computer-controlled speech-language treatment will be administered during the application of tDCS.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01686373

Run by

University of South Carolina

People needed

74

Starts

2012-04-01

Expected to finish

2017-10-01

Last updated by the study team

2019-08-20

Who can join

Age: 25 and older, up to 80. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Patients must be willing and able to give informed consent.
• Patients must be willing and able to comply with study requirements.
• Patients must be between 25- and 80-years of age.
• Patients must be native English speakers.
• Patients must be pre-morbidly right-handed.
• Patients must have sustained a one-time ischemic stroke in the left-hemisphere.
• Patients must be greater than 6-months post-stroke.
• Patients must have an aphasia diagnosis as confirmed by the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised.
• Patients must be MRI-compatible (e.g., no metal implants, not claustrophobic, etc.).
• Patients must achieve at least 65% accuracy on naming task during screening -

You may not qualify if…

• History of brain surgery
• Seizures during the previous 12 months
• Sensitive scalp (per patient report)
• Able to overtly name more than an average of 140 out of 175 items during the pre-treatment picture naming test (Philadelphia Naming Test) during Visits 2 or 3.
• Unable to overtly name at least an average of 5 out of 80 items during the pre-treatment functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions during Visits 2 or 3.

Where it is running

• Medical University of South Carolina — Charleston, South Carolina, United States
• University of South Carolina (USC) — Columbia, South Carolina, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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