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RECRUITINGPhase 2INTERVENTIONAL

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation + Language Therapy to Treat Mild Aphasia

Personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Constraint Induced Language Therapy to Treat Mild Post-Stroke Aphasia

Important: This information is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

About This Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) combined with Speech-Language Therapy (SLT) is an effective treatment for mild aphasia in persons with chronic stroke. The main questions this study aims to answer are: 1. Can TMS combined with SLT improve conversational speech and comprehension? 2. Can we identify specific behavioral and biological characteristics that would benefit most from the TMS and SLT treatment? Researchers will compare real TMS to sham (fake) TMS to see whether TMS can treat post-stroke mild aphasia. Participants will: * Complete a screening and medical intake to determine eligibility * Undergo a MRI * Participate in 10 consecutive sessions (Monday-Friday) of TMS and SLT treatment * Complete follow-up assessments 2 and 4 months after treatment

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: - Left Hemisphere stroke - Stroke occurred more than 6 months ago - Mild Aphasia (WAB AQ score \> 85) - Proficient in English Who Should NOT Join This Trial: - Ongoing substance or alcohol abuse - Other neurological disorders, beside stroke (i.e. dementia, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis) - Active psychiatric disorders (i.e. bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) - Pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator - Diagnosis of tinnitus - Epilepsy, or seizure in the past 6 months Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language
Inclusion Criteria: * Left Hemisphere stroke * Stroke occurred more than 6 months ago * Mild Aphasia (WAB AQ score \> 85) * Proficient in English Exclusion Criteria: * Ongoing substance or alcohol abuse * Other neurological disorders, beside stroke (i.e. dementia, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis) * Active psychiatric disorders (i.e. bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) * Pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator * Diagnosis of tinnitus * Epilepsy, or seizure in the past 6 months

Treatments Being Tested

DEVICE

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

TMS, is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain. In this study we will utilize theta-burst stimulation which uses a higher frequency pulse of 50 Hz delivered for 40 seconds for a total of 600 pulses.

BEHAVIORAL

Speech-Language Therapy (SLT)

Our SLT protocol draws from two theories and evidence-based cognitive-linguistic frameworks: (1) conversational alignment, which engages priming of lexical and syntactic structures through dialogue and conversation and (2) increased tolerance of memory load in the context of sentence repetition and dialogue tasks. Administration of these tasks will abide by principles of constraint-induced language therapy, i.e., intense treatment schedule and verbal responding only. All participants will receive SLT.

Locations (1)

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States