Clinical Trial: Brain Biomarkers of Response to Treatment for Apraxia of Speech

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

Official Title: Brain Biomarkers of Response to Treatment for Apraxia of Speech

Brief Summary: The study will use MRI brain imaging to identify brain changes associated in stroke patients after they receive speech-language treatment for their speech difficulties.

Detailed Summary: The goals of the current study are to identify grey and white matter regions that are predictive of speech treatment response and measure neural plasticity in response to speech treatment, using state-of-the-art neuroimaging and statistical processing techniques in a group of well-characterized left hemisphere patients meeting strict inclusionary criteria. Specifically, the investigators will use voxel-based lesion symptom mapping to identify lesion sites most predictive of a positive response to speech treatment and advanced diffusion imaging techniques to map changes in the integrity of white matter tracts from pre- to post-treatment.
Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development

Current Primary Outcome: Percent change in naming score for trained and untrained items [ Time Frame: 8 weeks ]

For each participant, three target sounds will be chosen, and these may be single consonants, vowels, or clusters at the word level. Twenty items for each speech sound will be developed: 10 which will serve as Trained items and 10 which will serve as untrained items. The trained and untrained items will be balanced according to syllabic structure, word frequency, grammatical form class, and stress pattern. The trained items will allow us to measure acquisition effects, and the untrained items will allow us to measure generalization effects of SPT.


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome: Change in fractional anisotropy [ Time Frame: 8 weeks ]

To measure neuroplasticity associated with the speech treatment protocol, the investigators will calculate the difference in fractional anisotropy values from pre- to post-treatment for each of the eight fiber tracts in the left hemisphere.


Original Secondary Outcome: Change in fractional anisotropy [ Time Frame: 8 weeks ]

To measure neuroplasticity associated with the speech treatment protocol, we will calculate the difference in fractional anisotropy values from pre- to post-treatment for each of the eight fiber tracts in the left hemisphere.


Information By: VA Office of Research and Development

Dates:
Date Received: January 24, 2014
Date Started: March 1, 2014
Date Completion: March 2018
Last Updated: February 23, 2017
Last Verified: February 2017