Neurofeedback Intervention for Reading Deficits in Subacute Stroke (ReadingNFB)

May 4, 2026 updated by: Olga Boukrina, Kessler Foundation

Rehabilitation of Reading Deficits in Subacute Stroke Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Neurofeedback and Motor Imagery

The overall goal of this project is to advance a biologically-based approach to treatment of reading disorders after stroke, which will expand the limits of cognitive rehabilitation. Using a novel brain imaging technique, called real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback combined with right hand motor imagery, this project will re-instate brain activity in the left language-dominant hemisphere. Stroke patients will practice modulating their own brain activity using fMRI neurofeedback signal and will select the most effective mental strategies that help them maintain brain activation patterns associated with better reading recovery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
28

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • First-ever left-hemisphere stroke < 3 months prior to study recruitment or healthy volunteer
  • Age: 18 - 80 years old
  • Fluent and literate in English prior to stroke
  • Reading deficits, defined as >3 errors on the Paragraphs test (subtests VIII, IX) of the Reading Comprehension Battery for Aphasia-2nd ed. (RCBA-2) in keeping with the healthy control accuracy criterion of 86-100% correct.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to consent or complete study tasks
  • Inability to undergo MRI (e.g., pregnancy, non-MRI compatible implants, claustrophobia)
  • A history of prior neurological disease (e.g., brain tumor, Alzheimer's disease)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Motor Imagery and Contingent Neurofeedback (NFB)
This group will receive real-time fMRI NFB on the bases of participant's own brain activity
Behavioral: Motor Imagery and Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback
Survivors of left-hemisphere stroke (<10 weeks post-stroke) or healthy volunteers will use right-hand motor imagery coupled with fMRI neurofeedback to help them re-engage the left hemisphere by shifting brain activation leftward relative to the initial left-right asymmetry. Following group assignment, participants will perform a motor imagery task and complete 3 sessions of motor imagery and reading tasks in the MRI scanner over 3 weeks. During the MRI sessions they will receive real time neurofeedback about how well they are engaging the left side of their brain compared to the right side. They will also practice the same task for 30 min a day as homework using the most effective motor imagery strategy that worked for them in the MRI scanner.
Sham Comparator: Motor Imagery and Non-contingent Neurofeedback (NFB)
This group will receive group will receive fMRI NFB based on another participant's brain activity
Behavioral: Motor Imagery and Sham fMRI Neurofeedback
Survivors of left-hemisphere stroke (<10 weeks post-stroke) or healthy volunteers will practice right-hand motor imagery coupled with sham fMRI neurofeedback. As the experimental group, participants will perform a motor imagery task and complete 3 sessions of motor imagery and reading tasks in the MRI scanner over 3 weeks. However, during the MRI sessions they will receive sham neurofeedback on the basis of another participant's brain activity. Like the experimental group, they will also practice the same task for 30 min a day as homework.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Reading Aloud Accuracy
Time Frame: change from baseline at intervention week 1, 2, and 3
Read aloud 136 words to produce an accuracy score in percent correct.
change from baseline at intervention week 1, 2, and 3
fMRI Brain Activity
Time Frame: change from baseline at intervention week 1, 2, and 3
Whole-brain and region of interest activation and resting state functional connectivity
change from baseline at intervention week 1, 2, and 3

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Reading Comprehension Battery for Aphasia (RCBA-2)
Time Frame: change from baseline at 1 week follow up
Letter, word, sentence, paragraph and text-level reading comprehension test designed for aphasia. Score range 0-100, higher scores correspond to better reading ability.
change from baseline at 1 week follow up
Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R) Bedside
Time Frame: change from baseline at 1 week follow up
A bedside assessment for language impairments in aphasia. Scores range from 0 to 80 for the Bedside Language Score and higher scores represent better language ability.
change from baseline at 1 week follow up
Boston Naming Test (BNT-short)
Time Frame: change from baseline at 1 week follow up
A brief picture naming test designed to identify word finding difficulties. Score ranges from 0 to 15, with higher scores corresponding to better picture naming ability.
change from baseline at 1 week follow up
Palm Trees and Pyramids test
Time Frame: change from baseline at 1 week follow up
Touch-screen computer tests of semantics, phonology, and orthography. The semantics task is to choose one of two examples at the bottom of the screen that matches the target at the top in meaning. The phonology task is to select a rhyme of the target in a similar fashion. These tests have a word and picture versions. The orthography task is to choose a letter string that more closely resembles a word. Each subtest accuracy ranges from 0 to 60 items, with higher scores representing better function.
change from baseline at 1 week follow up
Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
Time Frame: change from baseline at 1 week follow up
A self-report assessment of depression to be used as covariate where appropriate. Scores range 0-30, with higher scores representing worse self-ratings of depression.
change from baseline at 1 week follow up
Neuro evaluation
Time Frame: baseline and 1 week follow up
An in-house test of motor and cognitive function, administered by a qualified clinician. The test includes observational checklists, testing 9 qualitative parameters: mental status, cranial nerves, motor function, sensory function, reflexes, cerebellar function, gait and stance, behavior during testing and any other observations.
baseline and 1 week follow up

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Kessler Foundation

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 3, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 29, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 3, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 6, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • R-1147-21

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Data generated in this project may be shared in accordance with the funding agency (NIH) and site organization (Kessler Foundation) policies, as well as the Notice of Privacy of Practices and Informed Consent documents signed by each participant in the study. In case data are shared, they will be de-identified, such that no link can be made to the individual participant. To prevent the possibility of deductive disclosure of participants through brain scans and the association with the rehabilitation hospital, data and associated documentation will be made available to users only under a data-sharing agreement.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data may be shared after the acceptance for publication of the main findings of the study.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data may be shared upon request and following the establishment of a data sharing agreement, that provides for: (1) a commitment to using the data only for research purposes and not to identify any individual participant; (2) a commitment to securing the data using appropriate computer technology; and (3) a commitment to destroying or returning the data after analyses are completed.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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