Special NE Seminar at Graduate Center: Dr. Marangolo on Nov 25

TUESDAY November 25, 2014 from 4:30-5:45pm at the CUNY GRADUATE CENTER, 365 Fifth Avenue, ROOM 7300

 tDCS-Enhances Language Recovery: New Challenges in Aphasia Rehabilitation?

Paola Marangolo

Affiliation: Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy

 Abstract: New technologies has made new tools available for professional speech-language therapists. In the field of aphasia, one area is central for a positive outcome in language rehabilitation: the use of noninvasive brain stimulation techniques. A growing body of evidence has already indicated that TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) can have beneficial effects in the treatment of aphasia. However, although some studies have shown an improvement of lexical deficits, a persistency of the effects has not been consistently reported. Moreover, many of these studies do not have a control condition to establish the specificity of the stimulated area. More recent studies suggest that long-term effects might be more easily obtained with repeated stimulations and during simultaneous specific language training. The development of these new approaches, as potentially promising tools for aphasia rehabilitation, will be discussed together with an overview of the language deficits most suitable for intervention.

References

Marangolo P & Caltagirone C. Options to enhance recovery from aphasia by means of non-invasive brain stimulation and action observation therapy. Expert Rev. Neurother., 2014

Marangolo P et al. Electrical stimulation over the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) determines long-term effects in the recovery of speech apraxia in three chronic aphasics. Behav Brain Res, 2011.

Marangolo P et al., Differential involvement of the left frontal and temporal regions in verb naming: a tDCS study. Restor Neurol and Neurosci, 2013