Study of Brain Stimulation to Reduce Fatigue and Improve Language and Attention After Stroke Using tDCS

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating whether electrical brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation tDCS applied to the front parts of the brain can help people who have had a stroke improve their fatigue, language, and attention. The study aims to compare active tDCS with sham stimulation to see if active treatment better reduces post-stroke fatigue and aphasia. It also explores which participant characteristics are linked to greater improvements in these symptoms. Participants will receive 10 sessions of either active or sham tDCS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during behavioral therapy. The behavioral treatments include attention-focused sentence comprehension therapy or sentence picture matching therapy, each lasting 10 sessions. Active tDCS involves applying 2mA current for 20 minutes, while sham tDCS mimics this briefly without lasting stimulation. Four groups combine these device and therapy variations. During the study, participants complete fatigue, language, and cognitive tests before treatment, within one week after completing the sessions, and again at 3 months. Researchers will use tools such as the Fatigue Interference and Severity Scale for Aphasia, Continuous Performance Test, Attention Network Test, and sentence comprehension tasks to assess outcomes. The study includes safety monitoring and audio-recording of sessions over several months of follow-up.

Brain Stimulation Effects on Post-Stroke Fatigue and Aphasia