Stony Brook University
The purpose of this study is to find out whether pairing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with cognitive training can improve memory and language learning in people who have previously used VNS therapy for movement rehabilitation after a stroke. VNS has been previously used to support motor recovery after stroke, but its effect on cognitive learning is not yet fully understood. This study is enrolling individuals who already have a VNS device implanted and have successfully completed VNS-assisted movement therapy. The investigators aim to explore whether continuing to use the device during a language learning program may also support memory and cognitive improvement. This is a research study, which means the use of VNS for cognitive enhancement is experimental and not currently part of standard treatment. An exploratory MRI/fMRI component also will assess whether VNS-paired language learning is associated with changes in task-based activation and resting-state functional connectivity in language, memory, salience/arousal, and frontoparietal cognitive-control networks. The information learned may help guide future approaches to stroke rehabilitation and cognitive recovery.
Stroke survivors frequently experience persistent cognitive, memory, and language-related difficulties that can affect independence and quality of life. VNS paired with rehabilitation has been shown to enhance motor recovery after stroke, and paired stimulation may support experience-dependent neural plasticity. This study extends that approach to cognitive and language learning by pairing VNS with structured foreign-language vocabulary training. Eligible participants will be adults with prior stroke who are scheduled to receive, or have received, clinically indicated Vivistim VNS implantatio…
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged 22 years or older * History of stroke * Implanted with a Vivistim™ VNS device * Monolingual in English * Home-dwelling and independent in activities of daily living * No prior language training in the selected language of learning * Tolerated 6 weeks of movement therapy at 0.8 mA without incident and has used the device for at-home stimulation without incident * Willing and able to participate in a six-week at-home intervention * Clinically stable, without major concurrent medical conditions that would interfere with study participation Exclusion Criteria:…
Subjects previously implanted with VNS will undergo second language acquisition