title: Induction of neuroplasticity and recovery in post-stroke aphasia by non-invasive brain stimulation.
abstract: Stroke victims tend to prioritize speaking, writing, and walking as the three most important rehabilitation goals. Of note is that two of these goals involve communication. This underscores the significance of developing successful approaches to aphasia treatment for the several hundred thousand new aphasia patients each year and over 1 million stroke survivors with chronic aphasia in the U.S. alone. After several years of growth as a research tool, non-invasive brain stimulation (NBS) is gradually entering the arena of clinical aphasiology. In this review, we first examine the current state of knowledge of post-stroke language recovery including the contributions from the dominant and non-dominant hemispheres. Next, we briefly discuss the methods and the physiologic basis of the use of inhibitory and excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as research tools in patients who experience post-stroke aphasia. Finally, we provide a critical review of the most influential evidence behind the potential use of these two brain stimulation methods as clinical rehabilitative tools.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA ; Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Priyanka P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Jerzy P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Szaflarski
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Allendorfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA ; Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Roy H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Hamilton
keywords: TMS; aphasia; fMRI; rTMS; rehabilitation; tDCS