Impact of Art Therapy on Brain Connectivity in Recent Post-Stroke Aphasia (ART-CONNECT)

Impact of Art Therapy on Brain Connectivity in Recent Post-Stroke Aphasia (ART-CONNECT)

A stroke located in the left parieto-temporal junction is associated, in aphasic right-handed patients, with a poor prognosis for language recovery. The role of the right hemisphere in recovering post-stroke aphasia is still controversial. Our hypothesis, based on recent work in imaging, is that early activation of the right hemisphere linked to the practice of the visual arts could facilitate language recovery in extended posterior left strokes that completely disrupt language areas.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Ischemic or Hemorrhagic Stroke
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Art therapy and standard orthophonic rehabilitation

Detailed Description

The investigators will evaluate, at inclusion and at 6 weeks, the reorganization of functional and structural brain connectivity maps before and after rehabilitation of aphasia with art therapy and standard orthophonic rehabilitation versus a control group that received only standard orthophonic rehabilitation.

The investigators will include all consecutive patients with recent ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke with unilateral lesion(s) of the parieto-temporal left junction present on the Diffusion MRI (DWI) performed in acute phase at 24-48h.

All patients will undergo 2 MRI with tensor diffusion sequences (structural connectivity) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) resting state sequences (functional connectivity) at inclusion and 6 weeks after rehabilitation with or without art therapy.

The investigators aimed to demonstrate that early activation of the right hemisphere related to the practice of the visual arts could facilitate the recovery of language in later strokes completely disrupting the language areas of the left hemisphere.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Paris, France, 75013
    • Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Soins de Suite et Réadaptation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with recent ischemic or haemorrhagic stroke with unilateral lesion (s) of the parieto-temporal left junction present on the Diffusion MRI (DWI) performed in acute phase at 24-48h
• Post stroke delay of 15 days to 2 months
• Existence of moderate to severe phasic disorders on Aphasia Rapid Test score (ART, score> 6, scale of 26 items)
• Patient able to read and understand French
• Rightful
• Normal and corrected vision and hearing
• Absence of pre-existing degenerative neurological disorder
• Patient having signed his consent
• Age ≥ 18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with contraindications to MRI or claustrophobic
• Patients under legal protection
• Patients with behavioral disorders or disabling neurovisual disorders making participation in art therapy impossible
• Mute patients, illiterate patients
• Patients leaving the neurological SSR department prematurely
• Patients not affiliated to a social security scheme
• Pregnant or lactating women.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Art therapy; Art therapy and standard orthophonic rehabilitation	Other: Art therapy and standard orthophonic rehabilitation; In addition to standard orthophonic rehabilitation, the patient will receive 12 sessions of art therapy
No Intervention: Control group; Only standard orthophonic rehabilitation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
change from baseline measurement of white substance bundles volumes for structural connectivity at 6 weeks	from inclusion at 6 weeks
change from baseline measurement of synchrony amplitude of slow fluctuations for functional Connectivity at 6 weeks	from inclusion at 6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
change from baseline Aphasia at 6 weeks	The BDAE (Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination) score ranges from 0 to 5, with higher values indicating more severe impairment	from inclusion at 6 weeks
change from baseline Aphasia at 6 weeks	The ART (Aphasia Rapid Test) score ranges from 0 to 26, with higher values indicating more severe impairment	from inclusion at 6 weeks
change from baseline Anxiety and depression at 6 weeks	The HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) scores ranges from 0 to 21 for both anxiety and depression scores, with higher values indicating more severe impairment	from inclusion and at 6 weeks
change from baseline Quality of life self-assessment at 6 weeks	Visual Analogic scale of patient quality of life is a 0% to 100% scale, with 100 indicating the best health status	from inclusion at 6 weeks
Satisfaction self-assessment at 6 weeks	visual analogic scale of patient satisfaction is a 0 to 10 scale, with higher values indicating better satisfaction	at 6 weeks only

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sophie Dupont, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 17, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 16, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): January 17, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 10, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 25, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): January 29, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 23, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 21, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: rehabilitation; aphasia; art therapy; brain connectivity
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Stroke; Communication Disorders; Language Disorders; Speech Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Hemorrhagic Stroke; Ischemia; Aphasia; Therapeutics; Complementary Therapies; Patient Care; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Sensory Art Therapies; Art Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: APHP180312; N° IDRCB: 2018-A02462-53 (Other Identifier: ANSM)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No