Efficacy and Neural Mechanisms of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Targeting the Supplementary Motor Area for the Treatment of Subacute Post-stroke Aphasia

July 15, 2026 updated by: Panpan Hu, MD, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University

Study on the Efficacy and Neural Mechanisms of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Targeting the Supplementary Motor Area for the Treatment of Subacute Post-stroke Aphasia

This study aims to investigate the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients with post-stroke aphasia (PSA) and to explore its potential neural mechanisms. The study will recruit PSA patients and provide them with 14 tDCS sessions over 7 days, along with speech therapy. Language Behavior Scale scores and resting-state functional MRI scans will be collected before and after the intervention. In addition, a retrospective comparison will be conducted of language function and resting-state fMRI changes in a group of PSA patients who received only speech therapy; these patients did not undergo any physical intervention but received only speech therapy. Changes in Language Behavior Scale scores and functional connectivity (FC) before and after treatment in the speech therapy-only group will be analyzed and compared with those in the tDCS intervention group.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • China
    • Anhui
      • Hefei, Anhui, China
        • Recruiting
        • transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
        • 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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients must be between 18 and 80 years of age
  • First stroke in the left hemisphere
  • Stroke onset within the past 12 weeks
  • Native Chinese speakers who were able to communicate normally prior to onset
  • Diagnosed with aphasia using the ABC scale
  • Right-handed
  • Informed consent obtained from the patient and family members

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Time since stroke onset exceeds 12 weeks
  • History of psychiatric or neurological disorders
  • History of surgery for severe head trauma, brain tumors, or brain abscesses
  • Severe articulation disorders
  • Claustrophobia or implants incompatible with MRI
  • Inability to cooperate with language scale testing or fMRI scanning
  • History of previous stroke

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: tDCS group
PSA patients enrolled in the tDCS group received tDCS treatment twice daily for 7 consecutive days, along with 7 days of speech-language therapy. The current intensity was 2 mA, and each treatment session lasted 20 minutes.
Other: transcranial direct current stimulation
As a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, tDCS offers advantages such as convenience, safety, and low cost. Its mechanism of action involves regulating neuronal activity in the brain by applying a weak direct current to the scalp.
No Intervention: The speech-language therapy group
The speech-language therapy group received only 7 days of speech-language therapy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Aphasia quotient (AQ)
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after all interventions have ended
The Aphasia Battery of Chinese (ABC) is a standardized Chinese adaptation of the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). The Aphasia Quotient (AQ) is a composite score that reflects the overall severity of language impairment. The AQ score ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100. Higher scores indicate better language function (i.e., less severe impairment).
Baseline, immediately after all interventions have ended

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
rs-fMRI
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after all interventions have ended
Baseline, immediately after all interventions have ended

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University

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)

July 30, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 15, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AHMU-tDCS-PSA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared with other researchers due to patient privacy protection and the limitations of the informed consent form.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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