Mind over mouth: mental practice may ease Post-Stroke swallowing trouble
NCT ID NCT07656844
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether adding mental practice of swallowing to standard therapy helps people who have trouble swallowing after a stroke. 43 adults were split into three groups: one watched swallowing videos then imagined the action, one just imagined swallowing, and one had only standard therapy. After 4 weeks, researchers measured changes in swallowing safety and function. The goal was to see if imagining swallowing, especially with video guidance, could improve recovery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- motor imagery training (mental practice of swallowing, with or without video observation)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, low-cost addition to standard therapy for improving swallowing after stroke.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study (43 people) with no blinding of participants. Results may not apply to all stroke survivors, and the effect may be modest.
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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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43 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Finished
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May 2026
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a government body.
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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18 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 years or older * Diagnosis of stroke by a neurologist based on medical history, physical examination, and brain computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging findings * No progressive or non-progressive neurological disease other than stroke * No known psychiatric disease * No sensory dysfunction * No communication problem * Mini-Mental State Examination score of 24 or higher and ability to follow commands at a level sufficient to comply with motor imagery practice * Ability to maintain sitting balance and remain in a sitting position for 30 minutes * Presence of dysphagia symptoms or need for further evaluation based on dysphagia screening tests, with referral for videofluoroscopic swallowing study * No serious acute medical condition such as hemodynamic instability during testing Exclusion Criteria: * Refusal to participate in the study or withdrawal from the study during the study period * Inadequate performance of videofluoroscopic swallowing evaluation due to technical, clinical, or patient compliance-related reasons * Presence of sensory-motor aphasia * Presence of visual or hearing impairment * Presence of severe neglect * Evidence of esophageal dysphagia on videofluoroscopy and/or clinical symptoms * History of surgery, cancer, or radiotherapy in the head and neck region that may affect swallowing * Presence of vertebral problems that may restrict cervical movement, such as advanced cervical discopathy, prominent osteophyte formation, or cervical deformity * Presence of neurological diseases other than stroke that may cause dysphagia, such as dementia, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, or neuromuscular disease
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic
Ankara, Ankara, 06170, Turkey (Türkiye)
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