Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Motor Cortex on Language Functions in Residual Aphasia (StimRAph)

April 30, 2013 updated by: Marcus Meinzer, Charite University, Berlin, Germany
The present study assesses whether language functions in patients with residual post-stroke aphasia can be improved by transcranial direct current stimulation administered to the primary motor cortex in the language dominant (left) hemisphere.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Patients will participate in two tDCS sessions (atDCS; sham) in a cross-over within subjects design. tDCS or placebo will be administered during simulatneous fMRI to assess neural signatures of the stimulation. Order of stimulation will be counterbalanced between subjects

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

16

Phase

  • 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

  • Germany
      • Berlin, Germany, 10117
        • Recruiting
        • Charite, University Medicine, Dept. of Neurology
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Marcus Meinzer, PhD
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Agnes Flöel, MD
        • Contact:

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • right handedness
  • German native speaker
  • cerebrovascular stroke in left hemisphere (>6 months)
  • mild aphasia (according to Aachen Aphasia Test Battery Classification, Huber et al., 1983)
  • residual anomia in naming test (>75 correct responses)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • other current or previous neurological or psychiatric diseases
  • alcohol or drug abuse
  • MRI contraindication (e.g. magnetic metal, pacemaker, claustrophobia)

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: anodal tDCS
atDCS will be administered for 20 minutes with 1 milliampere (1 mA) to the left primary hand motor cortex
Device: atDCS
atDCS will be delivered with a constant current of 1 mA during simultaneous resting-state (RS) and task-related (picture naming) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The current will be turned on prior to the RS-fMRI scan and continues for 20 minutes.
Device: sham tDCS
During sham the current will be increeased and decreased in a ramp-like fashion (10 sec)
Sham Comparator: sham tDCS
sham tDCS will be administered to the left primary hand motor cortex
Device: atDCS
atDCS will be delivered with a constant current of 1 mA during simultaneous resting-state (RS) and task-related (picture naming) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The current will be turned on prior to the RS-fMRI scan and continues for 20 minutes.
Device: sham tDCS
During sham the current will be increeased and decreased in a ramp-like fashion (10 sec)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Response latency during picture naming task (max. 80)
Time Frame: Change in response latency between assessment 1 (week 1) and assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week
Subjects are assessed in a cross-over design. The primary outcome measure will be assessed twice in each subject, either during placebo ("sham) stimulation or active (anodal) stimulation with transcranial direct current stimulation. Order of stimulation will be counterbalanced across the group.
Change in response latency between assessment 1 (week 1) and assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in neural activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging
Time Frame: Change in fMRI activity between Assessment 1 (week 1) and Assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week
Change in fMRI activity between Assessment 1 (week 1) and Assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Marcus Meinzer, PhD, Charite, University Medicine, Neurology
  • Principal Investigator: Agnes Flöel, MD, Charite, University Medicine, Neurology

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

April 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

April 1, 2014

Study Completion (Anticipated)

April 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 30, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 30, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

May 3, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 3, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 30, 2013

Last Verified

April 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RAPH_01EO0801

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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