StrokeAMTNCT07209488
Acquired Dyslexia Modeling and Treatment
A study testing Phono-Motor Therapy and Semantic Feature Analysis in people with Stroke and Dyslexia, Acquired, run by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey at 3 sites in United States.
Trial summary
This study is a low-risk, early phase 1, multicenter trial to test the use of a computational (neural network) cognitive model of reading to simulate acquired dyslexia and its treatment. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 85 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Stroke, Dyslexia, Acquired
- What is being tested?
- Phono-Motor Therapy and Semantic Feature Analysis
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 12 participants
- Where
- 3 sitesUnited States
- Study dates
- 3 Dec 2025to Sep 2026
- 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
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Fluent in English as a first language pre-stroke by self report.
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
- Normal or aided hearing.
- Left hemisphere ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke (as verified by a structural brain scan).
- Impaired reading as confirmed by significant impairment in the Basic Skills cluster of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - III.
Who cannot join
- Diagnosed pre-stroke neurological disease affecting the brain other than left hemisphere stroke.
- Severe apraxia of speech (determined by consensus judgment among speech-language pathologists).
- History of learning disabilities such as developmental dyslexia or current self-reported major psychiatric disorders.
- Inability to undergo, or provide a copy of, a post-stroke brain imaging scan.
Trial locations and contacts
3 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States3 sites, 3 recruiting
- Recruiting
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287
Argye B Hillis, MD, 443-287-4610, argye@jhmi.edu
- Recruiting
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida, 32306
Elizabeth B Madden, PhD, 850-644-4088, ebmadden@fsu.edu
- Recruiting
Kessler Foundation
West Orange, New Jersey, 07052
Olga Boukrina, PhD, 973-324-3587, oboukrina@kesslerfoundation.org
About this study
Official title: Evidence-based Modeling for Acquired Dyslexia Treatments
This study is a low-risk, early phase 1, multicenter trial to test the use of a computational (neural network) cognitive model of reading to simulate acquired dyslexia and its treatment. The aim is to determine whether there is an advantage to receiving the treatment the model predicts to be advantageous compared to the alternative treatment. All participants will receive two full rounds of treatment. A round of treatment will consist of either phonomotor treatment (PMT) or semantic feature analysis (SFA) for 60 hours, distributed over 5 days a week for 2 hours a day.
- Conditions
- Stroke, Dyslexia, Acquired
- Being tested
- Phono-Motor Therapy, Semantic Feature Analysis
- Keywords
- reading, computational model, treatment, therapy
- Medical subject headings
- Stroke, Dyslexia, Acquired
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Phono-Motor TherapyBehavioural
Also called PMT
Orthographic stimuli (letters) are introduced from the beginning as each phoneme is being trained. This maintains the focus on phonology, while emphasizing its relevance to reading. PMT consists of an initial phase focused on training of individual phonemes and phoneme sequences in spoken language, followed by written language tasks. English phonemes are first trained in isolation, followed by phoneme sequences in words and pseudowords. They are trained multi-modally through emphasis on auditory, motor, tactile-kinesthetic, visual, and orthographic representations for each consonant and vowel. When sequences are introduced, focus on phonology is maintained by training on pseudowords first before real words are introduced. Participants work on identifying, repeating, parsing, blending, and manipulating phonemes that make up the pseudoword and word stimuli. To maintain focus on phonology, pictures and definitions of the stimuli are never shown or discussed.
Semantic Feature AnalysisBehavioural
Also called SFA
SFA activates semantic features of the target word to help retrieve the spoken form of the word. To target reading, a modified SFA is used with written words rather than pictures as the primary materials. Pictures are instead included for each word as a semantic feature. Stimuli will consist of 80 highly imageable nouns with a range of word frequencies. During treatment the therapist will present a written noun and ask the participant a series of questions about the features of that noun. For example, if the presented noun is "juice", the therapist would have the participant select the corresponding picture from an array of pictures. The therapist then would ask, "what do you do with it?" (eliciting a feature from the "function" category) and "where do you store it in your home?" (eliciting a feature from the "context" category). This is done for a total of 6 categories of semantic features. The process is repeated until the participant reads the noun correctly three times in a row.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Model-matched | Experimental | This group will receive the therapy, either phonological or semantics-based, that matches the computational model prediction for the source of their reading impairment. They will receive this for the first 60 total hours of therapy, and for the second 60 hours of therapy. Receives: Behavioral: Phono-Motor Therapy; Behavioral: Semantic Feature Analysis |
| Model-non-matched | Active comparator | This group will receive the therapy, either phonological or semantics-based, that does not match the computational model prediction for the source of their reading impairment. They will receive this for the first 60 total hours of therapy. For the second 60 hours, they will receive the other therapy. Receives: Behavioral: Phono-Motor Therapy; Behavioral: Semantic Feature Analysis |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - III
The WRMT-III is a standardized measure of reading skills.
Measured: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
Test words and pseudowords
Change in accuracy of reading 120 test words and 80 pseudowords
Measured: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
Secondary outcomes (2)
Western Aphasia Battery - Revised
The WAB - R is a standard measure of aphasia severity. It determines both the degree of aphasia and whether treatment has any impact on aspects of aphasia other than acquired dyslexia.
Measured: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
Comprehensive Aphasia Test - Disability Quotient
The CAT - DQ is a self-report measure of subjectively perceived degree of disability.
Measured: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Oct 2025
- Study start3 Dec 2025
- Primary completionSep 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionSep 2026 (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.
- 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
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Model description
- The study model is a partial crossover design in that participants receiving model-matched therapy will continue with the same therapy in the 2nd half of the study, while those receiving the non-model-matched therapy will be switched in the 2nd half to the other therapy.
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, William W. Graves, Ph.D., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- Investigators
- William W Graves, PhD, Principal investigator, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07209488
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Pro2025001100
- Other IDs
- R56DC022256
- Acronym
- AMT
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 2 Oct 2025
- Last updated
- 6 May 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Pursuant to the rules of the Institutional Review Board of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, only data that can be fully de-identified will be shared. All data collected using non-proprietary (non-copyrighted) instruments are expected to be de-identifiable and therefore will be shared in de-identified form. These include: structural brain images (de-faced), results of the test for hemi-spatial neglect, the experimental list of 120 words and 80 pseudowords for reading aloud, and results of touch-screen choice tasks for testing phonological, semantic, and orthographic knowledge.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 6 May 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evidence-based Modeling for Acquired Dyslexia Treatments
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07209488
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- AMT / Pro2025001100
- Conditions
- Stroke, Dyslexia, Acquired
- Keywords
- reading, computational model, treatment, therapy
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
- Study start
- 3 Dec 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Sep 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 7 Oct 2025 (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.
This study is a low-risk, early phase 1, multicenter trial to test the use of a computational (neural network) cognitive model of reading to simulate acquired dyslexia and its treatment. The aim is to determine whether there is an advantage to receiving the treatment the model predicts to be advantageous compared to the alternative treatment. All participants will receive two full rounds of treatment. A round of treatment will consist of either phonomotor treatment (PMT) or semantic feature analysis (SFA) for 60 hours, distributed over 5 days a week for 2 hours a day.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- The study model is a partial crossover design in that participants receiving model-matched therapy will continue with the same therapy in the 2nd half of the study, while those receiving the non-model-matched therapy will be switched in the 2nd half to the other therapy.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Model-matched | Experimental | Behavioral: Phono-Motor Therapy, Behavioral: Semantic Feature AnalysisThis group will receive the therapy, either phonological or semantics-based, that matches the computational model prediction for the source of their reading impairment. They will receive this for the first 60 total hours of therapy, and for the second 60 hours of therapy. |
| Model-non-matched | Active comparator | Behavioral: Phono-Motor Therapy, Behavioral: Semantic Feature AnalysisThis group will receive the therapy, either phonological or semantics-based, that does not match the computational model prediction for the source of their reading impairment. They will receive this for the first 60 total hours of therapy. For the second 60 hours, they will receive the other therapy. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Fluent in English as a first language pre-stroke by self report.
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
- Normal or aided hearing.
- Left hemisphere ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke (as verified by a structural brain scan).
- Impaired reading as confirmed by significant impairment in the Basic Skills cluster of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - III.
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Diagnosed pre-stroke neurological disease affecting the brain other than left hemisphere stroke.
- Severe apraxia of speech (determined by consensus judgment among speech-language pathologists).
- History of learning disabilities such as developmental dyslexia or current self-reported major psychiatric disorders.
- Inability to undergo, or provide a copy of, a post-stroke brain imaging scan.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Phono-Motor TherapyAlso: PMTOrthographic stimuli (letters) are introduced from the beginning as each phoneme is being trained. This maintains the focus on phonology, while emphasizing its relevance to reading. PMT consists of an initial phase focused on training of individual phonemes and phoneme sequences in spoken language, followed by written language tasks. English phonemes are first trained in isolation, followed by phoneme sequences in words and pseudowords. They are trained multi-modally through emphasis on auditory, motor, tactile-kinesthetic, visual, and orthographic representations for each consonant and vowel. When sequences are introduced, focus on phonology is maintained by training on pseudowords first before real words are introduced. Participants work on identifying, repeating, parsing, blending, and manipulating phonemes that make up the pseudoword and word stimuli. To maintain focus on phonology, pictures and definitions of the stimuli are never shown or discussed. | Behavioural | Model-matched, Model-non-matched |
| Semantic Feature AnalysisAlso: SFASFA activates semantic features of the target word to help retrieve the spoken form of the word. To target reading, a modified SFA is used with written words rather than pictures as the primary materials. Pictures are instead included for each word as a semantic feature. Stimuli will consist of 80 highly imageable nouns with a range of word frequencies. During treatment the therapist will present a written noun and ask the participant a series of questions about the features of that noun. For example, if the presented noun is "juice", the therapist would have the participant select the corresponding picture from an array of pictures. The therapist then would ask, "what do you do with it?" (eliciting a feature from the "function" category) and "where do you store it in your home?" (eliciting a feature from the "context" category). This is done for a total of 6 categories of semantic features. The process is repeated until the participant reads the noun correctly three times in a row. | Behavioural | Model-matched, Model-non-matched |
Primary outcome
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - III
Time frame: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
The WRMT-III is a standardized measure of reading skills.
Test words and pseudowords
Time frame: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
Change in accuracy of reading 120 test words and 80 pseudowords
2 secondary outcomes
Western Aphasia Battery - Revised
Time frame: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
Comprehensive Aphasia Test - Disability Quotient
Time frame: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.
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 6 May 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. Pursuant to the rules of the Institutional Review Board of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, only data that can be fully de-identified will be shared. All data collected using non-proprietary (non-copyrighted) instruments are expected to be de-identifiable and therefore will be shared in de-identified form. These include: structural brain images (de-faced), results of the test for hemi-spatial neglect, the experimental list of 120 words and 80 pseudowords for reading aloud, and results of touch-screen choice tasks for testing phonological, semantic, and orthographic knowledge.
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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.
William W Graves, PhD principal investigator
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
3 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Phono-Motor Therapy and Semantic Feature Analysis in people with Stroke and Dyslexia, Acquired, run by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey at 3 sites 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 4 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 6 May 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 3 sites 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. 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 William W Graves, PhD (973-353-3947, william.graves@rutgers.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - III (time frame: Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. 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 6 May 2026.