tACS for Aphasia

N/A

Recruiting

Research Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Presence of aphasia

Suffered a single, left hemisphere stroke

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up 5-10 minutes after a single session of active (alpha tacs) and sham (fake tacs).

Summary

This trial tests if tACS can improve language skills in post-stroke aphasia, and see if it is different to aged matched controls.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for right-handed individuals who have had a stroke in the left hemisphere of their brain at least 6 months ago and are now experiencing aphasia, which affects language abilities. They must understand the study and agree to participate.

What is being tested?

Researchers are testing if active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can improve language skills in people with post-stroke aphasia. Participants will undergo real and sham tACS while performing language tests to measure effectiveness.

What are the potential side effects?

Potential side effects of tACS may include mild discomfort or skin irritation at the electrode sites, headache, fatigue, or transient dizziness. These side effects are generally considered minimal.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

You may be eligible if you check “Yes” for the criteria below

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I have difficulty with speaking or understanding language.

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I had one stroke on the left side of my brain.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ 5-10 minutes after a single session of active (alpha tacs) and sham (fake tacs).

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~5-10 minutes after a single session of active (alpha tacs) and sham (fake tacs).

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and 5-10 minutes after a single session of active (alpha tacs) and sham (fake tacs). for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Performance on the Blocked-Cyclic Naming (BCN) Task

Trial Design

2Treatment groups

Active Control

Placebo Group

Group I: real-tACSActive Control1 Intervention

The active stimulation will consist of an alternating current delivered in the alpha frequency band with a peak-to-peak intensity of 4 milliamps (mA) for 20 minutes. Participants will complete sentence completion and verb generation task during stimulation.

Group II: sham-tACSPlacebo Group1 Intervention

Sham stimulation involves the delivery of 60 seconds of the actual stimulation waveform ("ramp up") which is then gradually reduced to 0 milliamps (mA) ("ramp down"). Participants will complete sentence completion and verb generation task during stimulation.

0 / 2Eligibility criteria met