Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Treat Aphasia: A Superiority Study
University of South Carolina
Summary
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.
Description
This project is a prospective randomized controlled double-blinded clinical trial to compare auditory-visual speech therapy coupled with adjuvant active anodal tDCS (A-tDCS) versus speech therapy coupled with sham tDCS (S-tDCS). The investigators will perform an adaptive Phase II/III design, in which the first portion of the study (Phase II) will determine the optimal dose of A-tDCS (1 mA versus 2 mA) and provide a go/no-go decision for Phase III. The investigators will use a 10-10 system to determine electrode placement, with 5 x 5 cm pads, and stimulation duration will be 20 minutes. Phase I…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 25–80 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * 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…
Interventions
- DevicetDCS
The study intervention will be delivered using the Soterix 1x1 Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Clinical Trials device (Soterix Medical Inc., New York).
Locations (3)
- Medical University of South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
- University of South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina
- University of UtahSalt Lake City, Utah