Superiority Trial of Aphasia-focused Rehabilitation With tDCS Stimulation

Recruiting now · Phase 2/Phase 3 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Aphasia, Broca's Aphasia

In brief

The purpose of this study is to help us understand if adding transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, to Speech Therapy improves language recovery in people with Broca's aphasia and is more effective than Speech Therapy alone.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07688551

Run by

University of South Carolina

People needed

130

Starts

2026-07-14

Expected to finish

2030-06-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-21

Who can join

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

You may qualify if…

• Be willing and able to give informed consent.
• Be willing and able to comply with study requirements.
• Be between 25 and 80 years of age.
• Have used English as the primary language for > 15 years.
• Have the diagnosis of aphasia due to a left hemisphere stroke, confirmed by study physician based on past clinical MRI scan or research scan.
• Be greater than 6 months post-stroke.
• Have Broca's aphasia diagnosed by the WAB-R (fluency score ≤ 5, auditory verbal comprehension score 4-10, repetition score 0-7.9, naming and word finding score < 9).
• Correctly name 140 or fewer items on the PNT.

You may not qualify if…

• History of brain surgery except for during the treatment of the acute stroke.
• Seizures during the previous 12-months.
• Compromised skin at or near electrode sites (e.g., rash, eczema, wounds, infection).
• Correctly name more than 140 out of 175 items during the pre-treatment picture naming test (Philadelphia Naming Test).
• Western Aphasia Battery-Revised Aphasia Quotient (WAB-R AQ) score of 25 or below.
• Participants with open skull defects (e.g., greater than 1 cm) in the area underneath the anode electrode positioning or participants with metal implants or electrical stimulators.
• Participants with continuous oxygen therapy which cannot be discontinued for more than 1 hour.
• Any condition or situation that the PI determines would significantly interfere with the participant's ability to complete the study.

Where it is running

• Medical University of South Carolina — Charleston, South Carolina, United States (enrolling)
• University of South Carolina — Columbia, South Carolina, United States (enrolling)
• University of Utah — Salt Lake City, Utah, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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