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We explore the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to improve language abilities in patients with chronic stroke and non-fluent aphasia. After identifying a site in the right frontal gyrus for each patient that responds optimally to stimulation, we target this site during ten days of rTMS treatment.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been shown to significantly improve language function in patients with non-fluent aphasia1. In this experiment, we demonstrate the administration of low-frequency repetitive TMS (rTMS) to an optimal stimulation site in the right hemisphere in patients with chronic non-fluent aphasia. A battery of standardized language measures is administered in order to assess baseline performance. Patients are subsequently randomized to either receive real rTMS or initial sham stimulation. Patients in the real stimulation undergo a site-finding phase, comprised of a series of six rTMS sessions administered over five days; stimulation is delivered to a different site in the right frontal lobe during each of these sessions. Each site-finding session consists of 600 pulses of 1 Hz rTMS, preceded and followed by a picture-naming task. By comparing the degree of transient change in naming ability elicited by stimulation of candidate sites, we are able to locate the area of optimal response for each individual patient. We then administer rTMS to this site during the treatment phase. During treatment, patients undergo a total of ten days of stimulation over the span of two weeks; each session is comprised of 20 min of 1 Hz rTMS delivered at 90% resting motor threshold. Stimulation is paired with an fMRI-naming task on the first and last days of treatment. After the treatment phase is complete, the language battery obtained at baseline is repeated two and six months following stimulation in order to identify rTMS-induced changes in performance. The fMRI-naming task is also repeated two and six months following treatment. Patients who are randomized to the sham arm of the study undergo sham site-finding, sham treatment, fMRI-naming studies, and repeat language testing two months after completing sham treatment. Sham patients then cross over into the real stimulation arm, completing real site-finding, real treatment, fMRI, and two- and six-month post-stimulation language testing.
Aphasia-an acquired deficit of language ability-is a common and often debilitating consequence of stroke2. Although some degree of recovery from aphasia after acute stroke is typical, many patients experience at least some degree of persistent deficits, and existing language therapies are generally considered to be only modestly effective in facilitating recovery3-5. Recent years have seen the emergence of noninvasive stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as promising potential treatment approaches for a variety of deficits after stroke, including aphasia. TMS employs the principle of electromagnetic induction and....
1. Pre-Treatment Evaluation
In the site-finding phase of this investigation, most but not all patients respond optimally on the picture-naming task to stimulation of the right pars triangularis14. In our experience, patients' performance on picture naming is most consistently facilitated by stimulation of the ventral posterior aspect of the pars triangularis (Figure 3).
Long-term improvement in performance on standardized language assessments is illustrated in Figure 4. This .......
The goal of this article is to detail the steps for identifying a responsive target site in the right hemisphere in patients with chronic non-fluent aphasia. By doing so, we are able to stimulate that target region therapeutically, assess the effects of stimulation on language ability, and use low-frequency rTMS to elicit long-term improvements in naming and fluency in patients with chronic non-fluent aphasia. Our approach replicates and extends methods used by prior investigators, most notably Naeser and colleagues.......
The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.
This work is supported by the following sources of funding:
MAN: NIH 2R01 DC05672-04A2
RHH : NIH/NINDS 1K01NS060995-01A1
RHH: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/ Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program
Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
Name of Reagent/Material | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
Rapid transcranial magnetic stimulator | Magstim | ||
3.0 Trio Scanner | Siemens | ||
8 channel head coil | Siemens | ||
Brainsight neuronavigational system | Rogue Research |
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