Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
10:15
Utilizing Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Improve Language Function in Stroke Patients with Chronic Non-fluent Aphasia
Published on: July 2, 2013
Left hemisphere plasticity and aphasia recovery
Julius Fridriksson1, Jessica D Richardson, Paul Fillmore
1Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA. jfridrik@sc.edu
Neuroimage
|January 10, 2012
Summary
Treatment for anomia in chronic stroke patients with aphasia showed improved naming linked to left frontal lobe changes. Reduced naming errors were associated with left posterior brain region activity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Previous research identified a link between left hemisphere functional brain changes and anomia treatment outcomes in stroke survivors with aphasia.
- This study builds upon prior work by refining methods and expanding the patient cohort to precisely locate treatment-related brain changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the specific locations of left hemisphere brain changes associated with anomia treatment.
- To examine the relationship between brain activity changes and improvements in correct naming, semantic paraphasias, and phonemic paraphasias.
- To determine if baseline neurophysiological measures predict anomia treatment success.
Main Methods:
- Functional brain imaging was used to assess changes in brain activation in 30 chronic stroke patients with aphasia undergoing anomia treatment.
- The study correlated changes in brain activation with changes in naming accuracy and error types (semantic, phonemic).
- Baseline neurophysiological data were analyzed for their predictive value regarding treatment outcomes.
Main Results:
- Increased activation in perilesional areas, particularly the left frontal lobe, predicted improved correct naming.
- Changes in temporal lobe activation correlated with a reduction in semantic and phonemic paraphasias.
- Baseline neurophysiological measures showed a less consistent relationship with anomia treatment outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Anomia treatment success in aphasia is associated with functional modulation of the left frontal lobe.
- Reduction in naming errors is linked to activity changes in left posterior language processing regions.
- Brain activity changes during treatment are more predictive of outcomes than baseline neurophysiological measures.
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