Recruiting
Phase 2

Aphasia Treatment

Sponsor:

University of Pittsburgh

Code:

NCT05653466

Conditions

Aphasia

Stroke

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Adaptive Spacing Condition

High-Item Non-Adaptive Spacing Condition

Low-Item Non-Adaptive Spacing Condition

Study Details

Brief summary:

Aphasia is a language disorder caused by stroke and other acquired brain injuries that affects over two million people in the United States and which interferes with life participation and quality of life. Anomia (i.e., word- finding difficulty) is a primary frustration for people with aphasia. Picture-based naming treatments for anomia are widely used in aphasia rehabilitation, but current treatment approaches do not address the long-term retention of naming abilities and do not focus on using these naming abilities in daily life. The current research aims to evaluate novel anomia treatment approaches to improve long-term retention and generalization to everyday life.

This study is one of two that are part of a larger grant. This record is for sub-study 2, which will evaluate the benefits of adaptive trial spacing.

Conditions

Aphasia

Stroke

Study ID

NCT05653466

Start date

Dec 6, 2023

Status verified date

Dec, 2025

Completion date

Jan 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jan 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Existing diagnosis of chronic (>6 months) aphasia subsequent to left hemisphere stroke.
  • Impaired performance on 2/8 sections of the Comprehensive Aphasia Test.
  • Must have access to a high-speed internet connection and be able to participate in telehealth.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of other acquired or progressive neurological disease.
  • Significant language comprehension impairments
  • Unmanaged drug / alcohol dependence.
  • Severe diagnosed mood or behavioral disorders that require specialize mental health interventions.

Study Design

Enrollment

32 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Adaptive spacing, then high-item non-adaptive spacing, then low-item non-adaptive spacing

All participants will receive all three naming treatment conditions in a randomized order - this is one possible ordering of those conditions.

experimental: Adaptive spacing, then low-item non-adaptive spacing, then high-item non-adaptive spacing

All participants will receive all three naming treatment conditions in a randomized order - this is one possible ordering of those conditions.

experimental: High-item non-adaptive spacing, then adaptive spacing, then low-item non-adaptive spacing

All participants will receive all three naming treatment conditions in a randomized order - this is one possible ordering of those conditions.

experimental: High-item non-adaptive spacing, then low-item non-adaptive spacing, then adaptive spacing

All participants will receive all three naming treatment conditions in a randomized order - this is one possible ordering of those conditions.

experimental: Low-item non-adaptive spacing, then high-item non-adaptive spacing, then adaptive spacing

All participants will receive all three naming treatment conditions in a randomized order - this is one possible ordering of those conditions.

experimental: Low-item non-adaptive spacing, then adaptive spacing, then high-item non-adaptive spacing

All participants will receive all three naming treatment conditions in a randomized order - this is one possible ordering of those conditions.

Interventions

Adaptive Spacing Condition

Each of the 200 target words for practice are presented on a schedule determined by an algorithm that relies on the pattern of correct vs. incorrect responses for each item. Items in the "active learning" state need to be answered correctly a certain number of times before being categorized as "learned." Each item must be answered correctly 3 times in a row (immediately, then at one-minute and five-minute intervals) before it is categorized as "learned." Then, it will be scheduled at ever-increasing intervals, until answered incorrectly, at which point the item would be returned to the "active learning" state, requiring three correct responses in a row to return again to the "learned" expanding interval state.

High-Item Non-Adaptive Spacing Condition

Each of the 200 target words for practice are presented in sequential order randomized within blocks, with each word presented once before the list repeats.

Low-Item Non-Adaptive Spacing Condition

Each of the 40 target words for practice are presented in sequential order randomized within blocks, with each word presented once before the list repeats.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in correct responses in Confrontation Naming of Treated and Untreated Pictured Objects [ Time Frame: Initial assessment (pre-treatment), 3 months post-treatment ]
  • Change in correct responses in Context Generalization of Treated and Untreated Pictured Objects [ Time Frame: Initial assessment (pre-treatment), 3 months post-treatment ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Alyssa Kelly, M.A., CCC-SLP

412-648-3274ank155@pitt.edu

Locations

Language Rehab and Cognition Lab, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15260

Contacts

William Evans, PhD

412-383-6943will.evans@pitt.edu

Principal Investigator:

William Evans, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Last update posted

Dec 11, 2025

Last verified

Dec, 2025

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Pittsburgh on 2025-12-11.