Zapping the brain to save words: new hope for PPA?
NCT ID NCT07650188
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether mild electrical or sensory stimulation can improve short-term memory for words in people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a condition that slowly damages language areas of the brain. Twenty participants will receive real or fake stimulation while doing language tasks. The goal is to see if these safe, noninvasive methods can temporarily boost memory.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2026
- Expected to finish
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May 2035
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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45 years and older
- 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: * Clinical exam supports diagnosis of PPA and/or MCI with no report of difficulty functioning in basic or instrumental activities of daily living. * Completed clinical cognitive exam within 6 months of study baseline visit OR neuropsychological research battery within 6 months of study baseline visit. Exclusion Criteria: * Evidence of dementia at baseline * Known history of neoplasm, symptomatic stroke, moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, or other significant neurologic event * Age \<45 years. * Evidence of severe psychiatric illness (e.g., bipolar disorder, schizophrenia). * Presence of cardiac stimulators or pacemakers * Any other implants near the scalp or in the eye * Contraindications to MRI or stimulation * Pregnancy * History of ongoing or unmanaged seizures * History of dyslexia or other developmental learning disabilities
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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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Medical College of Wisconsin
RECRUITINGMilwaukee, Wisconsin, 53226, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can speech therapy help those losing their words? new trial aims to find out
- Could a gentle brain zap improve speech in progressive language disorders?