Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation in Subacute Aphasia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) shows promise as an adjunctive therapy for chronic aphasia.
• Aphasia, a language disorder resulting from brain damage, significantly impacts communication and quality of life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of anodal tDCS combined with language therapy in subacute aphasia.
• To assess the impact of tDCS on discourse measures, quality of life, and naming accuracy compared to sham stimulation.

Main Methods:

• A single-center, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial involving 58 participants with subacute aphasia.
• Participants received either active tDCS (1 mA for 20 minutes) or sham-tDCS alongside standard naming treatment.
• The primary outcome was the change in naming accuracy of untrained pictures from pre-treatment to 1-week post-treatment.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in picture naming accuracy improvement was observed between the tDCS and sham groups.
• Participants receiving tDCS showed greater improvements in discourse content and efficiency compared to the sham group.
• Quality of life improvements did not differ significantly between the groups, and no adverse events were reported.

Conclusions:

• tDCS did not enhance picture naming recovery in subacute aphasia.
• tDCS positively impacted discourse recovery, which is crucial for patient participation.
• Future research should involve larger samples and more comprehensive functional outcome measures to further explore tDCS in aphasia rehabilitation.