Sentence Production Training in Aphasia

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Aphasia
• Interventions: Behavioral: Sentence training

• Registration Number: NCT05415501
• Lead Sponsor: Purdue University

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.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2021-08-01
• Study First Submitted: 2022-05-16
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-06-10
• Study First Posted: 2022-06-13
• Status Verified: 2024-12
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-12-14
• Last Update Posted: 2024-12-18
• Primary Completion: 2026-05-30
• Study Completion: 2026-05-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 104

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

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Structural priming training	Sentence training	Participants will be enrolled in 3 sessions of structural priming training (for experiment 1-3) or up to 15 treatment sessions (for experiment 4). Each session will be about 2 hour long, consisting of a set of tasks, including repeating, making, and remembering various types of sentences. In experiment 1-3, each participant will receive two different experimental priming conditions that are being compared within each session. In experiment 4, participants will receive a structural priming treatment in a single-subject design.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Production of target sentences on action description pictures	From baseline up to 1-week post training or 2-month post treatment	Production accuracy (percent correct)
Real-time comprehension of target sentences in a sentence-to-picture matching task	From baseline up to 1-week post training or 2-month post treatment	Changes in eye fixations to the target picture
Comprehension of target sentences in a sentence-to-picture matching task	From baseline up to 1-week post training or 2-month post treatment	Comprehension accuracy (percent correct)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Production of untrained sentences	From baseline up to 2-month post treatment	Production accuracy (percent correct)
Connected speech production - story retell	From baseline up to 2-month post treatment	Increased production of complex utterances as measured by proportion of sentence-level utterances out of all utterances
Connected speech production - picture description	From baseline up to 2-month post treatment	Increased production of complex utterances as measured by proportion of sentence-level utterances out of all utterances

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Purdue University; 🇺🇸 West Lafayette, Indiana, United States