Talking and tDCS Treatment for Stroke Survivors with Aphasia

This pilot study involves the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), in conjunction with speech-language therapy for aphasia. In recent years, researchers have investigated the use of noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and tDCS for the modulation of brain activity to improve function post stroke. In contrast to TMS, administering speech-language therapy at the same time is feasible with tDCS since the environment is quiet. Although several studies include behavioral therapy, the specifics regarding the speech-language treatment have not been described, and most studies simply reference traditional naming therapy. The specific behavioral speech-language protocol for this study will be highlighted, as the treatment administered may have implications for tDCS outcomes. In this pilot we compare the effects of anodal tDCS targeting language centers in the left hemisphere, and cathodal tDCS inhibiting Broca's area homologue in the right hemisphere, in the presence of concurrent speech-language therapy that includes treatment at the single-word, sentence, and conversational levels. The independent variable of this cross over study is tDCS intervention, and the dependent variables are speech-language abilities, depressive symptoms, and health-related quality of life. Subjects will receive 10 sessions of speech-language treatment in conjunction with tDCS and 10 sessions of speech-language treatment without tDCS (sha...
Source: BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Abstracts Presented at NYC Neuromodulation 2013 Source Type: research