Zapping the brain to find lost words: new hope for stroke survivors?

NCT ID NCT04166513

Completed Symptom relief Sponsor: Medical College of Wisconsin Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tested whether a gentle electrical current applied to the scalp (tDCS) during speech therapy could help people with chronic aphasia—a language disorder after stroke—recover their ability to name objects and read words. Twenty-five adults with long-term aphasia received both real and sham stimulation while doing picture-naming and reading tasks. The goal was to see if the brain stimulation boosted the effects of speech therapy and changed brain activity patterns.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: targeted transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
What this could lead to: If it works, this could point toward a non-invasive way to boost speech therapy for people with long-term aphasia after stroke.
What could go wrong: This is a small, completed study with only 25 participants and no control group for the stimulation alone. Results may not apply to all types of aphasia or stroke survivors.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for APHASIA are added.

Our safety recommendation!

By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

aphasia stroke disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

APHASIA STROKE

Contacts and locations

Locations

Medical College of Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53226, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.