Clinical trial NCT05415501: Sentence Production Training in Aphasia
Official title: Structural Priming as a Treatment Component in Aphasia
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Aphasia
Keywords: aphasia training
aphasia treatment
sentences
grammar
Lead sponsor: Purdue University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Temple University
name: University of California, San Diego
First posted: 2022-06-13
Enrollment: 104
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 21
Maximum age (years): 85
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This project focuses on developing a novel treatment for sentence production and comprehension in aphasia, using implicit priming. First set of experiments will aim examine which learning conditions are most effective in creating maximal training gains. Then, in a later study, the investigators will develop and test the efficacy of a novel treatment study based on findings from the first set of the studies.

Detailed description: Over five years, the investigators will conduct a series of studies to develop a novel intervention strategy for improving sentence production and comprehension in persons with aphasia. Specifically, the investigators will use implicit learning of grammar as a novel facilitator for language recovery in aphasia. The planned studies seek to test the hypothesis that implicit learning alters the central language system in PWA, creating lasting and generalized improvements in both sentence production and comprehension. Aim 1 will determine the extent to which different learning conditions modulate immediate and long-term improvement in sentence production. The investigators integrate multiple theories of language learning and apply them to make predictions about the trajectory of priming-induced learning in PWA. In Aim 2, using a set of eyetracking and sentence comprehension tasks, it will be investigated whether the effects of priming in production generalize to off-line (accuracy) and on-line (eye fixations) sentence comprehension and determine which learning conditions result in greater cross-modality generalization. In Aim 3, the investigators will develop and establish Phase I efficacy data of an implicit priming treatment, incorporating the crucial learning conditions supporting maximal retention from Aims 1 and 2. The project will recruit both individuals with aphasia and without aphasia.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Individuals with post-stroke aphasia
* At least 6 months post-onset of eft hemisphere stroke
* Native speaker of English
* Normal or corrected to normal hearing and vision
* High-school educated
* Difficulty communicating in sentences, with some ability to use words independently

Exclusion Criteria:

* Severe apraxia of speech
* Other neurological conditions affecting communication (e.g., dementia)
* Uncontrolled psychiatric/psychological conditions affecting thinking and communication
* Active alcohol/substance abuse

Primary outcomes:
measure: Production of target sentences on action description pictures
timeFrame: From baseline up to 1-week post training or 2-month post treatment
measure: Comprehension of target sentences in a sentence-to-picture matching task
timeFrame: From baseline up to 1-week post training or 2-month post treatment
measure: Real-time comprehension of target sentences in a sentence-to-picture matching task
timeFrame: From baseline up to 1-week post training or 2-month post treatment
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Production of untrained sentences
timeFrame: From baseline up to 2-month post treatment
measure: Connected speech production - story retell
timeFrame: From baseline up to 2-month post treatment
measure: Connected speech production - picture description
timeFrame: From baseline up to 2-month post treatment
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: West Lafayette
country: United States
facility: Purdue University
state: Indiana
Study officials:
affiliation: Purdue University
name: Jiyeon Lee, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: