Intention Treatment for Anomia

NCT ID: NCT04267198

Last Updated: 2025-10-22

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 32 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-05-24
• Study Completion Date: 2025-09-30

Brief Summary

Every year approximately 15,000 Veterans are hospitalized for stroke, and up to 40% of those Veterans will experience stroke-related language impairment (i.e., aphasia). Stroke-induced aphasia results in increased healthcare costs and decreased quality of life. As the population of Veterans continues to age, there will be an increasing number for Veterans living with the aphasia and its consequences. Those Veterans deserve to receive aphasia treatment designed to facilitate the best possible outcomes. In the proposed study, the investigators will investigate optimal treatment intensity and predictors of treatment response for a novel word retrieval treatment. The knowledge the investigators gain will have direct implications for the selecting the right treatment approach for the right Veteran.

Detailed Description

Difficulty retrieving words is one of the most common language complaints in individuals with stroke-induced aphasia. The negative consequences related to word retrieval impairment include increased health care costs and decreased quality of life. A variety of treatment approaches exist to improve word retrieval, and most of the treatments result in immediate improvement on trained words. However, long-term improvement and improvement on untrained words or behaviors is less common. Additionally, the investigators currently know very little about optimal treatment administration parameters, and the investigators know even less about predictors of treatment response. To make the best use of the limited clinical resources available for aphasia treatment, and to maximize outcomes for Veterans with aphasia, the investigators must: 1) develop clinically translatable treatments that yield widespread and lasting effects and 2) develop clinically accessible ways of identifying who will acquire benefit from a specific treatment approach. This study takes on these two challenges by investigating dose frequency (massed vs. distributed practice) effects and by identifying the language, cognitive and neural predictors of response to Intention treatment (INT), a novel word retrieval treatment. Specifically, the investigators will address the following aims:

Aim 1: To investigate dose frequency effects on maintenance and generalization of INT gains. Outcome measure: Word retrieval accuracy for trained and untrained words.

Aim 2: To identify the language and cognitive variables that predict response to m-INT vs. d-INT. Outcome measure: Language and cognitive ability as measured by standardized assessments.

Aim 3: To identify the neural predictors of response to m-INT vs. d-INT. Outcome measure: Tissue health and task activation location as measured by structural and functional MRI.

Conditions

Aphasia; Stroke

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Massed Intention Treatment (massed-INT)

Participants will receive 30 hours of Intention Treatment (INT) over 3 weeks.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Intention Treatment for Anomia

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Word retrieval treatment for aphasia that engages right hemisphere intention mechanisms using a left-hand circular gesture.

Distributed Intention Treatment (distributed-INT)

Participants will receive 30 hours of Intention Treatment (INT) over 12 weeks.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Intention Treatment for Anomia

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Word retrieval treatment for aphasia that engages right hemisphere intention mechanisms using a left-hand circular gesture.

Interventions

Intention Treatment for Anomia

Word retrieval treatment for aphasia that engages right hemisphere intention mechanisms using a left-hand circular gesture.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• English as primary language
• > 6 months post-onset a left-hemisphere stroke. Multiple strokes are acceptable as long as they are confined to the left hemisphere.
• Diagnosis of aphasia
• Presence of word retrieval deficits
• Adequate comprehension as judged by ability to complete two-step commands on the Western Aphasia Battery.

Exclusion Criteria

• Severe apraxia of speech or dysarthria
• Clinically significant depression
• For MRI safety: implanted medical devices, metal in the body and claustrophobia.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 21 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 89 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Amy D. Rodriguez, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA

Locations

Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA

Decatur, Georgia, United States

Countries

United States

Provided Documents

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

N3093-R

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id