Zapping the brain to help stroke survivors find their words again
NCT ID NCT04432883
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a gentle electrical current applied to the brain can make speech therapy more effective for people with chronic aphasia (trouble speaking or understanding language) after a stroke. About 50 adults who had a stroke at least six months ago will receive either real or fake brain stimulation during 15 speech therapy sessions. Researchers will measure improvements in picture naming and conversation skills right after treatment and again three months later.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2022
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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25 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. aged 25-85 2. must be greater than 6 months post-stroke 3. must have a diagnosis of aphasia based on impaired performance on the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised, Boston Naming Test, or during discourse production 4. must be left-hemisphere dominant as demonstrated by aphasia onset subsequent to left hemisphere damage 5. must be stimulable for naming Exclusion Criteria: 1. comorbid neurological disease. 2. damage to the anterior right hemisphere. 3. significant mood disorder. 4. substance/alcohol dependence or abuse within the past year 5. presence of any implanted electrical device or contraindications to tDCS or MRI 6. recent medical instability (within 4 weeks) 7. pregnancy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of New Mexico Center for Brain Recovery and Repair
RECRUITINGAlbuquerque, New Mexico, 87106, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Correlation of visual and motor deficits in stroke patients
- Pilot study on the effects induced by an electromyographic-controlled functional electrical stimulator (FitFES) for upper limb rehabilitation in post-stroke patients
- Brazilian version of a behavior change intervention to support healthy lifestyle adoption after stroke - iVIDAVC: protocol for a pilot randomized study
- Determination of efficacy of sustained motor contraction generated using StimWave peripheral nerve stimulator
- Can a PET tracer reveal hidden brain inflammation?