Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation + Language Therapy to Treat Mild Aphasia

Summary

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

Conditions

• Aphasia
• Stroke
• Aphasia Following Cerebral Infarction
• Aphasia, Acquired

Interventions

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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Temple University

  collaborator OTHER

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

  collaborator NIH

• University of Pennsylvania

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• H. Branch Coslett, MD · University of Pennsylvania

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

40 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-02-11

Primary Completion

2026-08-31

Completion

2026-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations