Adaptive Trial Scheduling in Naming Treatment for Aphasia

Summary

Aphasia is a language disorder caused by stroke and other acquired brain injuries that affects over two million people in the United States and which interferes with life participation and quality of life. Anomia (i.e., word- finding difficulty) is a primary frustration for people with aphasia. Picture-based naming treatments for anomia are widely used in aphasia rehabilitation, but current treatment approaches do not address the long-term retention of naming abilities and do not focus on using these naming abilities in daily life. The current research aims to evaluate novel anomia treatment approaches to improve long-term retention and generalization to everyday life.

This study is one of two that are part of a larger grant. This record is for sub-study 2, which will evaluate the benefits of adaptive trial spacing.

Conditions

• Aphasia
• Stroke

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Adaptive Spacing Condition

Each of the 200 target words for practice are presented on a schedule determined by an algorithm that relies on the pattern of correct vs. incorrect responses for each item. Items in the "active learning" state need to be answered correctly a certain number of times before being categorized as "learned." Each item must be answered correctly 3 times in a row (immediately, then at one-minute and five-minute intervals) before it is categorized as "learned." Then, it will be scheduled at ever-increasing intervals, until answered incorrectly, at which point the item would be returned to the "active learning" state, requiring three correct responses in a row to return again to the "learned" expanding interval state.

BEHAVIORAL

High-Item Non-Adaptive Spacing Condition

Each of the 200 target words for practice are presented in sequential order randomized within blocks, with each word presented once before the list repeats.

BEHAVIORAL

Low-Item Non-Adaptive Spacing Condition

Each of the 40 target words for practice are presented in sequential order randomized within blocks, with each word presented once before the list repeats.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  collaborator OTHER

• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Pittsburgh

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• William Evans, PhD · University of Pittsburgh

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-12-06

Primary Completion

2027-01-31

Completion

2028-01-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations