View clinical trials related to Anomia.
Filter by:iTALKBetter will provide an app-based therapy for people with word retrieval difficulties who have had a stroke. This study aims to test the therapy application for people with naming difficulties through a small scale randomized controlled trial.
Most of us take being able to communicate for granted. Anomia (word finding problems) after stroke can cause profound frustration and anxiety for patients and families. Some people recover; many don't. ~ 250,000 people in the UK have chronic speech and language problems post-stroke. This project will investigate how treatment for these people might be improved. The brain's speech areas can be stimulated using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The kit is simple; a battery powering electrodes placed on the scalp. Healthy people who had tDCS while naming pictures could find words quicker and their speech areas responded more efficiently. How it affects aphasic stroke patients' brain function is unknown.
Every year thousands of persons suffer from brain damage resulting in anomia, that is, word finding difficulties affecting their ability to talk to other people. Anomia may be a result of stroke or of progressive neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis (MS). Word retrieval is dependent on a complex system of different neural networks and to name objects and activities can be affected to different degrees. The present project explores different aspects of naming ability in altogether 90 persons that has anomia related to stroke or to Parkinson's disease or MS. Furthermore, the communicative strategies and resources used by conversation partners in everyday conversational interaction and in care situations, affected by anomia are studied. Finally, the project includes a study of the effectiveness of a word finding training program based on stimulation of semantic and phonological networks in the brain, involved in the production of words. There is a lack of research on effects on communication from anomia in Parkinson's disease and MS and there is no research on anomia that investigates both object and action naming using a material adapted to the Swedish language. In the project quantitative and qualitative methods are used to explore and describe how persons with different neurogenic communication disorders can use different resources and communicative strategies to express themselves.
A debilitating and common symptom in Gulf War Illnesses (GWI) is the inability to retrieve words. This affects one's conversations, ability to fluidly exchange information verbally and retrieve information from memory. The investigators have discovered 3 brain regions - the PreSupplementary Motor Area (preSMA), caudate nucleus, and the thalamus - that are essential for word retrieval. They have also detected abnormal EEG signals related to these regions in GWI patients who have problems retrieving words. The investigators have used their model of verbal retrieval to design a noninvasive, nonpharmacological treatment that uses High Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD tDCS). Using HD tDCS, they deliver small amounts of electric current to areas of the head to stimulate specific brain regions. The objective is to determine if delivery of HD tDCS over the preSMA will improve performance in GWI veterans with a verbal retrieval deficit. The investigators will administer pre-treatment tests of verbal retrieval measures while recording brain electrical activity. They will then administer 10 sessions of HD tDCS over the preSMA (20 minutes a session) in half the veterans. The other half will go through the same procedures, except the current will not be turned on (called the sham condition). The investigators will then compare performance between the "active" and sham group and assess if the treatment had a significant effect on performing verbal retrieval tasks and if there is a change in the ERP markers to account for how the treatment worked. If the treatment is found to be effective it will be offered to those in the sham group at the study's end. The investigators predict this treatment regimen will lead to positive effects on a person's daily functions, especially improved conversational abilities, with few, if any, side effects. They hope to outline the standard procedures for physicians to perform the treatment by creating a manual on how to apply the treatment in a clinical setting so that it will be quickly available to use in multiple sites if the proposed study demonstrates that it is efficacious. This treatment can be made widely available for Warrior Transition Units, military clinics, and VA medical centers. In addition, if successful, this could potentially lead to development of other targets of stimulation to improve other cognitive deficits in GWI, and help alleviate verbal fluency deficits associated with other disorders.
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States, and aphasia is common following a stroke to the left hemisphere of the brain. Aphasia therapy can improve aphasia recover; however, very little is known about how different patients respond to different types of treatments. The purpose of this study is to understand how the following factors influence an individual's response to aphasia treatment: 1) biographical factors (e.g., age, education, gender), 2) post-stroke cognitive/linguistic abilities and learning potential, and 3) the location and extent of post-stroke brain damage. We are also interested in understanding the kinds of treatment materials that should be emphasized in speech/language treatment. Overall, the goal of the current research is to inform the clinical management of post-stroke aphasia by identifying factors that can predict how an individual will respond to different treatment methods.
Many individuals have difficulty with word retrieval, also called anomia, following cerebrovascular accident (CVA). These difficulties impede effective communication in everyday conversations and can negatively impact the resumption of pre-injury activities. Even after rehabilitation specifically targeting these areas, many individuals report persistent difficulties with anomia. Additionally, most individuals report that these difficulties worsen when distracted, fatigued, or when attempting to divide attention between tasks. Given that everyday activities frequently require efficient communication when attention is divided (e.g., walking and talking), it is important to investigate viable interventions to improve these skills. Recovery from CVA and resumption of pre-injury activities is best supported by rehabilitation interventions that are functional and directly related to the tasks individuals aim to resume. For example, a therapy task requiring an individual to generate a grocery list and then go to a grocery store to acquire the items on the list has a greater impact on recovery for the underlying language and cognitive skills than a series of generic language and cognition tasks completed in a therapy room. In addition to this, interventions that incorporate dual-task practices tend to have better outcomes than more traditional single-task practices. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of pairing word retrieval tasks with physical endurance tasks versus presenting them in isolation. Additionally, this study will investigate whether improvements in word retrieval and physical endurance generalize to the functional, everyday task of holding a conversation while walking. The researchers hypothesize that participants will perform better on word retrieval tasks after participating in dual language and physical tasks than after participating in language tasks presented in isolation.
The goal of this study is to remediate word-finding problems in patients who have Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) or Alzheimer's Disease and to delay the further progression of word-finding impairment. The current approach is novel in that it contains a prophylaxis component in which the investigators attempt to strengthen neural connections that remain functional, making them more resistant to degradation as the disease progresses. While the study is specific in its targeting of word-finding problems, a successful outcome would bode well for other studies aimed at prevention or reversal of declining cognitive functions in dementia. One set of participants with PPA will receive practice with picture naming in two conditions: viewing the picture and repeating the name; and viewing the picture with its written name, plus reading and writing the name. Another set of participants with PPA or Alzheimer's Disease will be trained in two different conditions: learning about the word's semantic features (meaning); and learning about the word's lexical features (letters and sounds). Naming of pictures trained in each of these conditions will be compared, at three time intervals post-training, with naming of pictures tested before the study but never trained. It is predicted that the pairing of the picture with its written name, combined with the motor task of writing the name, will result in a greater ability to name the picture at a later date than simple practice viewing the picture and repeating the name. Furthermore, it is predicted that participants who have difficulty understanding concepts will be more likely to respond to semantic treatment, while participants who have difficulty connecting words with concepts will be more likely to respond to lexical treatment.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of treatment for specific language deficits in people with aphasia. In addition to language and cognitive measures, changes in brain function will also be gathered before and after the treatment is administered in order to track any changes resulting from receiving treatment.
Adults who sustain brain damage due to stroke, traumatic injury or surgery may develop difficulty finding words. This study compares the effectiveness of two behavior-based programs to improve picture naming ability in these individuals.