Exercise Effects on Word Learning

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Aging, Aphasia

In brief

The aging Veteran population will substantially increase over the next 10 years, as the 24.9% of Veterans who are currently between 55-64 years of age join the 38.5% who are already over age 65. The risk of stroke more than doubles each decade after age 55, which places Veterans at an ever-increasing risk of suffering stroke-related language impairment (i.e., aphasia). Difficulty retrieving words, which negatively impacts psychosocial well-being and quality of life, is the most common complaint in healthy aging and aphasia. Word retrieval interventions to maintain or restore communicative function are needed. Studies have shown that physical exercise can improve word learning in young adults. This study will investigate the effects of exercise on word learning in aging and aphasia. The results will help the us understand how exercise may be used to optimize word retrieval interventions for our aging Veterans.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03370471

Run by

VA Office of Research and Development

People needed

28

Starts

2016-12-09

Expected to finish

2019-08-16

Last updated by the study team

2021-09-05

Who can join

Age: 35 and older, up to 89. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• monolingual English speakers
• "low physical activity" on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire
• physician's written approval for participation in moderate-intensity exercise

You may not qualify if…

• VO2 max >26 (men) and 22 (women)
• inability to cycle for 3 minutes at 50 revolutions/minute with no resistance
• any comorbid condition with exercise contraindications
• use of hormone replacement therapy
• dopaminergic
• anti-depressant
• anti-psychotic
• or illicit drugs
• consumption of >14 alcoholic drinks/week or > 1pack of cigarettes/day
• uncorrected hearing or vision impairments that interfere with study procedures
• inability to read or repeat nonwords (e.g., flark)
• inability to learn one novel word during a practice learning task
• below cut-off on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Comprehensive Aphasia Test Cognitive Screen
• and/or >10 on the Beck Depression Inventory

Where it is running

• Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA — Decatur, Georgia, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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