Clinical Trial: Transcranial Direct Stimulation (tDCS) and Behavioral Intervention in Aphasia

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Effects of a Combination of Transcranial Direct Stimulation (tDCS) and Behavioral Intervention in Non-fluent Aphasia

Brief Summary: We hypothesize patients who have difficulty with word recall (naming pictures) due to a stroke will experience greater benefit in word recall after receiving a combination of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and traditional behavioral treatment. This study will investigate the effects of the timing of tDCS in relationship to the behavioral treatment to determine the most optimal protocol. Transcranial direct current stimulation involves placing two electrodes on your scalp and sending a very small electrical current to excite the brain cells of the target site.

Detailed Summary:

Specific Aims Aim 1: Identify and quantify the effects of a-tDCS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in conjunction with intensive behavioral treatment on naming in non-fluent aphasia. a-tDCS (2mA for 20 minutes) will be applied over the left DLPFC with cathode over the right orbit. Pre and post treatment behavioral measures of naming and working memory will be used to quantify and compare differences. Hypothesis 1: a-tDCS will result in improvements in naming accuracy, naming response times, and working memory (WM) in participants with non-fluent aphasia.

Aim 2: Compare the effects of a-tDCS applied to the left DLPFC before behavioral treatment to during behavioral treatment in non-fluent aphasia. a-tDCS (2mA for 20 minutes) will be applied over the left DLPFC with cathode over the right orbit. Pre and post treatment behavioral measures of naming and working memory will be used to quantify and compare functional differences between conditions. Hypothesis 1: a-tDCS to the DLPFC during treatment will result in a greater improvement of naming accuracy, naming response time and WM in participants with non-fluent aphasia.

Significance The findings from the proposed study will lay the foundation for a larger clinical trial which will in turn have a significant impact on individuals with aphasia given that naming deficits are a common symptom in this population. As the presence of naming deficits has a negative relationship to emotional well-being and functional communication 26-30, treatment that improves naming deficits will positively influence quality of life in many of these individuals. The approach taken to remediate naming deficits in aphasia is to treat impaired WM systems on the premise that certain cognitive processes underlie linguistic functions in aphasia. This approach represents a departure from mo
Sponsor: University of Minnesota - Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Current Primary Outcome: Boston Naming Test [ Time Frame: 30 minutes ]

Standardized test of word recall


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

  • Naming Reaction Time [ Time Frame: 20 minutes ]
    Document the amount of time it takes for the patient to identify the picture
  • Working memory [ Time Frame: 20 minutes ]
    Various working memory tasks


Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

Information By: University of Minnesota - Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Dates:
Date Received: August 25, 2014
Date Started: September 1, 2015
Date Completion: September 1, 2018
Last Updated: April 21, 2017
Last Verified: April 2017