Combining Language Therapy With rTMS in Aphasia

Summary

With the present RCT, the investigators aimed at finding an optimal protocol for the neurorehabilitation of chronic post-stroke aphasia by combining two promising methods, ILAT (Intensive language action therapy) and 1-Hz rTMS to the right-hemispheric homologue of the anterior language area of Broca (pars triangularis), thus taking advantage of recent research in speech and language sciences, neurorehabilitation and brain research.

Conditions

• Aphasia

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Intensive Language-Action Therapy (ILAT)

ILAT includes communicative language games played in an interactive small-group setting. Three persons with aphasia and one therapist sit around a table and have picture cards in front of them. The card sets include two items of each object or action picture. All participants take turns in making verbal requests. There will be 5 daily sessions (3 hours per session) for two weeks.

DEVICE

Repetitive navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation during naming training

Magnetic stimulation will delivered with a figure-of-eight cooled coil of Navigated Brain Stimulation System during picture naming training. The primary targeted area is the right pars triangularis. In each session, rTMS will be applied at 1-Hz for 20 minutes, 5 daily sessions per week for four weeks.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa

  collaborator OTHER

• Aalto University

  collaborator OTHER

• Freie Universität Berlin

  collaborator OTHER

• Paula Heikkinen

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Anu Klippi, Professor · University of Helsinki

• Jyrki Mäkelä, MD · BioMag Laboratory, Helsinki University Hospital

• Friedemann Pulvermüller, Professor · Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin

• Risto Ilmoniemi, Professor · Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-01-02

Primary Completion

2014-03-01

Completion

2014-03-01