Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Aphasia after Stroke / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on aphasia recovery after stroke. Meth-ods From April, 2012 to January, 2013, 20 aphasic patients after stroke were enrolled in an A-B experiment design. During phase A, ten times of sham tDCS and language training (five days a week) were implemented, then ten times language training combined with tDCS (five days a week) were implemented in phase B. The treatment lasted for four weeks. Picture naming was measured for all patients before and af-ter treatment both in phase A and phase B. Results The D-value scores of picture naming before and after treatment were significantly more in phase B than in phase A in both treatment items and non-treatment items (t>3.030, P<0.05). Conclusion tDCS could raise the accuracy of picture naming in patients with aphasia after stroke.