StrokeNCT06092814
tACS to Enhance Language Abilities
A study testing Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) in people with Stroke and Aphasia, Acquired, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this study is to see if transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can be used to enhance language abilities in people with post-stroke aphasia. Participants will receive real and sham tACS in conjunction with various language tests. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 85 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Stroke, Aphasia, Acquired, Aphasia
- What is being tested?
- Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 120 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 12 Jul 2024to 31 Aug 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 85 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Presence of aphasia
- Suffered a single, left hemisphere stroke
- Stroke ≥6 months old (chronic) at the time of enrollment
- Right-handedness
- Must be able to understand the nature of the study, and give informed consent
Who cannot join
- Inability to understand the nature of the study
- Marked naming impairment
- Impaired non-verbal, conceptual processing
- History of significant medical or neurological disorder (other than stroke)
- History of significant or poorly controlled psychiatric disorders
- Current abuse of alcohol or drugs, prescription or otherwise
Show all 20Show fewer
- Nursing a child, pregnancy, or intent to become pregnant during the study
- Clinically significant hearing loss
- Contraindications to tACS
- Contraindications to MRI
- Diagnosis of a neurodegenerative disease or clinically significant cognitive complaint
- Any unrelated neurologic or physical condition that impairs communication ability
- History of unrelated neurological conditions including but not limited to traumatic brain injury, stroke, or small vessel disease that has resulted in a neurologic deficit
- Any additional neurological condition that would likely reduce the safety of study participation, including central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis, intracranial tumor, intracranial aneurysm, multiple sclerosis or arteriovenous malformations
- A medically unstable cardiopulmonary or metabolic disorder
- Terminal illness associated with survival <12 months
- Major active psychiatric illness that may interfere with required study procedures or treatments as determined by the enrolling physician
- Current abuse of alcohol or drugs, prescription or otherwise
- Contraindications to tACS
- Contraindications to MRI
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
Denise Harvey, PhD, 215-573-4336, harveyde@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Daniela Sacchetti, MS, 215 573 4336, danielas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
About this study
Official title: Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) to Enhance Language Abilities
The goal of this study is to see if transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can be used to enhance language abilities in people with post-stroke aphasia. Participants will receive real and sham tACS in conjunction with various language tests. Researchers will compare the post-stroke aphasia group with aged matched controls to see if brain response to tACS differs between groups.
Read the detailed description
This research will investigate whether transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a form of noninvasive brain stimulation, can be used to enhance language abilities in people with aphasia (PWA) due to stroke and healthy older adults when compared to placebo (sham) tACS. The investigators hypothesize that alpha vs. sham tACS will improve language abilities. In addition, the investigators propose that alpha vs. sham tACS will increase local alpha power as well as alpha-induced functional connectivity, and the degree to which alpha tACS increases will be related to the degree of language performance improvement. Finally, the investigators hypothesize that PWA will exhibit abnormalities in alpha-related activity when compared to matched controls, and aphasia severity will be associated with the degree of PWA dysfunction in alpha power and alpha-driven functional connectivity.
- Conditions
- Stroke, Aphasia, Acquired, Aphasia
- Being tested
- Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)
- Keywords
- non-invasive brain stimulation, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), EEG
- Medical subject headings
- Stroke, Aphasia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)Device
Also called Sham transcranial alternating current stimulation [(ACS)
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) is a device that applies a low-intensity electrical current to the brain through electrodes on the scalp.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| real-tACS | Active comparator | The active stimulation will consist of an alternating current delivered in the alpha frequency band with a peak-to-peak intensity of 4 milliamps (mA) for 20 minutes. Participants will complete sentence completion and verb generation task during stimulation. Receives: Device: Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) |
| sham-tACS | Placebo comparator | Sham stimulation involves the delivery of 60 seconds of the actual stimulation waveform ("ramp up") which is then gradually reduced to 0 milliamps (mA) ("ramp down"). Participants will complete sentence completion and verb generation task during stimulation. Receives: Device: Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Performance on the Blocked-Cyclic Naming (BCN) Task
The BCN tasks involves naming a set of pictures repeatedly. Sets of pictures come from either the same semantic category (high competition condition; e.g., categorically related: "dog", "cat", "panda") or different semantic categories (low competition condition; e.g., unrelated: dog, eye, crib).
Measured: 5-10 minutes after a single session of active (alpha tACS) and sham (fake tACS).
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Oct 2023
- Study start12 Jul 2024
- Primary completion31 Aug 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Aug 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for StrokeStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of PennsylvaniaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Model description
- The proposed study is a within-subject, double-blind \& sham-controlled
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06092814
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 854139
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 28 Sep 2023
- Last updated
- 24 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 24 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) to Enhance Language Abilities
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06092814
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 854139
- Conditions
- Stroke, Aphasia, Acquired, Aphasia
- Keywords
- non-invasive brain stimulation, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), EEG
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of PennsylvaniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 12 Jul 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Aug 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Aug 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 23 Oct 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this study is to see if transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can be used to enhance language abilities in people with post-stroke aphasia. Participants will receive real and sham tACS in conjunction with various language tests. Researchers will compare the post-stroke aphasia group with aged matched controls to see if brain response to tACS differs between groups.
Detailed description
This research will investigate whether transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a form of noninvasive brain stimulation, can be used to enhance language abilities in people with aphasia (PWA) due to stroke and healthy older adults when compared to placebo (sham) tACS. The investigators hypothesize that alpha vs. sham tACS will improve language abilities. In addition, the investigators propose that alpha vs. sham tACS will increase local alpha power as well as alpha-induced functional connectivity, and the degree to which alpha tACS increases will be related to the degree of language performance improvement. Finally, the investigators hypothesize that PWA will exhibit abnormalities in alpha-related activity when compared to matched controls, and aphasia severity will be associated with the degree of PWA dysfunction in alpha power and alpha-driven functional connectivity.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Triple blind (participant, care provider, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- The proposed study is a within-subject, double-blind \& sham-controlled
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| real-tACS | Active comparator | Device: Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)The active stimulation will consist of an alternating current delivered in the alpha frequency band with a peak-to-peak intensity of 4 milliamps (mA) for 20 minutes. Participants will complete sentence completion and verb generation task during stimulation. |
| sham-tACS | Placebo comparator | Device: Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)Sham stimulation involves the delivery of 60 seconds of the actual stimulation waveform ("ramp up") which is then gradually reduced to 0 milliamps (mA) ("ramp down"). Participants will complete sentence completion and verb generation task during stimulation. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Presence of aphasia
- Suffered a single, left hemisphere stroke
- Stroke ≥6 months old (chronic) at the time of enrollment
- Right-handedness
- Must be able to understand the nature of the study, and give informed consent
Key exclusion criteria (20 listed)
- Inability to understand the nature of the study
- Marked naming impairment
- Impaired non-verbal, conceptual processing
- History of significant medical or neurological disorder (other than stroke)
- History of significant or poorly controlled psychiatric disorders
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)Also: Sham transcranial alternating current stimulation [(ACS)Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) is a device that applies a low-intensity electrical current to the brain through electrodes on the scalp. | Device | real-tACS, sham-tACS |
Primary outcome
Performance on the Blocked-Cyclic Naming (BCN) Task
Time frame: 5-10 minutes after a single session of active (alpha tACS) and sham (fake tACS).
The BCN tasks involves naming a set of pictures repeatedly. Sets of pictures come from either the same semantic category (high competition condition; e.g., categorically related: "dog", "cat", "panda") or different semantic categories (low competition condition; e.g., unrelated: dog, eye, crib).
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 24 Aug 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) in people with Stroke and Aphasia, Acquired, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 20 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Daniela Sacchetti, MS (215 573 4336, danielas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Performance on the Blocked-Cyclic Naming (BCN) Task (time frame: 5-10 minutes after a single session of active (alpha tACS) and sham (fake tACS).). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 24 Aug 2026.