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Neophytou K, Williamson K, Herrmann O, Afthinos A, Gallegos J, Martin N, Tippett DC, Tsapkini K. Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Pilot Study. Brain Sci 2024; 14:391. [PMID: 38672040 PMCID: PMC11048435 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aims to determine (a) if home-based anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) delivered to the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) coupled with verbal short-term memory/working memory (vSTM/WM) treatment ("RAM", short for "Repeat After Me") is more effective than sham-tDCS in improving vSTM/WM in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and (b) whether tDCS effects generalize to other language and cognitive abilities. METHODS Seven PPA participants received home-based a-tDCS and sham-tDCS coupled with RAM treatment in separate conditions in a double-blind design. The treatment task required participants to repeat word spans comprising semantically and phonologically unrelated words in the same and reverse order. The evaluation of treatment effects was carried out using the same tasks as in the treatment but with different items (near-transfer effects) and tasks that were not directly related to the treatment (far-transfer effects). RESULTS A-tDCS showed (a) a significant effect in improving vSTM abilities, measured by word span backward, and (b) a generalization of this effect to other language abilities, namely, spelling (both real words and pseudowords) and learning (retention and delayed recall). CONCLUSIONS These preliminary results indicate that vSTM/WM intervention can improve performance in trained vSTM/WM tasks in patients with PPA, especially when augmented with home-based tDCS over the left SMG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriaki Neophytou
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 488, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (K.N.); (K.W.); (O.H.); (A.A.); (J.G.); (D.C.T.)
| | - Kelly Williamson
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 488, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (K.N.); (K.W.); (O.H.); (A.A.); (J.G.); (D.C.T.)
| | - Olivia Herrmann
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 488, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (K.N.); (K.W.); (O.H.); (A.A.); (J.G.); (D.C.T.)
| | - Alexandros Afthinos
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 488, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (K.N.); (K.W.); (O.H.); (A.A.); (J.G.); (D.C.T.)
- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Rowan University, 401 Broadway, Camden, NJ 08103, USA
| | - Jessica Gallegos
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 488, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (K.N.); (K.W.); (O.H.); (A.A.); (J.G.); (D.C.T.)
| | - Nadine Martin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, 1701 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA;
| | - Donna C. Tippett
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 488, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (K.N.); (K.W.); (O.H.); (A.A.); (J.G.); (D.C.T.)
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 174, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 601 N. Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Kyrana Tsapkini
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 488, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (K.N.); (K.W.); (O.H.); (A.A.); (J.G.); (D.C.T.)
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
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