Nicotine Vaping Expectancies: Organization and Activation in Memory Based on Vaping Use Patterns.

OBJECTIVE: Prevalence of smoking combustible cigarettes has decreased, but rates of nicotine vaping among adolescents and young adults have increased dramatically. Vaping is associated with acute health problems and exposes users to toxic metals with unknown long-term consequences. Research on factors influencing vaping is needed to inform development of effective prevention and intervention methods. Nicotine vaping expectancies, or expected effects related to vaping, may be an important target as they can predict vaping behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine nicotine expectancy activation patterns with corresponding nicotine vaping behaviors. METHOD: Using methods from alcohol expectancy research, we applied a memory model approach to identifying nicotine vaping expectancies and modeling organization and activation patterns in relation to frequency of nicotine vaping. We created a memory model-based nicotine expectancy measure based on information from 200 adolescents in 8th and 12th grades, and 429 college students. Our expectancy measure was completed by a second sample of 862 college students. RESULTS: We mapped expectancies into network format using Individual Differences Scaling (INDSCAL) and we modeled likely paths of expectancy activation using Preference Mapping (PREFMAP). Non-users primarily emphasized a positive-negative expectancy dimension and were more likely to activate expectancies of negative internal experiences in relation to vaping. Students who vaped nicotine daily or almost daily primarily emphasized an external appearance-internal experience expectancy dimension and were more likely to activate expectancies of negative affect reduction and withdrawal relief. CONCLUSIONS: Our results identify specific targets for expectancy-based prevention and intervention methods that have the potential to be as effective as similar approaches to preventing and reducing alcohol use.

Delivery of a Prevention Program in Large College Classes: Effectiveness of the Expectancy Challenge Alcohol Literacy Curriculum.

Background: Despite modest reductions in alcohol use among college students, drinking-related harms continue to be prevalent. Group-delivered programs have had little impact on drinking except for experiential expectancy challenge interventions that are impractical because they rely on alcohol administration. Expectancy Challenge Alcohol Literacy Curriculum (ECALC), however, offers a non-experiential alternative suitable for widespread implementation for universal, selective, or indicated prevention. Objectives: ECALC has been effective with mandated students, fraternity members, and small classes of 30 or fewer first-year college students. Larger universities, however, typically have classes with 100 students or more, and ECALC has not yet been tested with groups of this size. To fill this gap, we conducted a group randomized trial in which five class sections with over 100 college students received either ECALC or an attention-matched control presentation and completed follow-up at four weeks. Results: ECALC was associated with significant changes on six subscales of the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Scale (CEOA), post-intervention expectancies predicted drinking at four-week follow-up, and there were significant expectancy differences between groups. Compared to the control group, students who received ECALC demonstrated significant expectancy changes and reported less alcohol use at follow-up. Conclusions: Findings suggest ECALC is an effective, single session group-delivered intervention program that can be successfully implemented in large classes.

Cardiovascular involvement among collegiate athletes following COVID-19 infection.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that the prevalence of cardiac involvement in young competitive athletes with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection appears to be low. AIM: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular involvement in young competitive athletes. METHODS: In this single-center retrospective cohort study from one Division I university; we assessed the prevalence of cardiovascular involvement among collegiate athletes who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction testing. Data were collected from June 25, 2020, to May 15, 2021. The primary outcome was the prevalence of cardiac involvement based on a comparison of pre- and post-infection electrocardiogram (ECGs). The secondary outcome was to evaluate for any association between ethnicity and the presence or absence of symptoms. RESULTS: Among 99 athletes who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus (mean age 19.9 years [standard deviation 1.7 years]; 31% female), baseline ECG changes suggestive of cardiovascular involvement post-infection were detected in two athletes (2/99; 2%). There was a statistically significant association between ethnicity and the presence or absence of symptoms, χ 2 (3, n = 99) = 10.61, P = 0.01. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of cardiovascular involvement among collegiate athletes following SARS-CoV-2 infection in this cohort is low. Afro-American and Caucasian athletes are more likely to experience symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection in comparison to Hispanic and Pacific Islander athletes; however, there is no association between ethnicity and symptom severity. RELEVANCE FOR PATIENTS: These data add to the growing body of the literature and agree with larger cohorts that the risk of cardiac involvement post-infection appears to be low among elite athletic and semi-professional athletic populations.

Contributors to Poststroke Dysphagia-Related Caregiver Burden.

Purpose Caregiver burden negatively impacts both stroke survivor and caregiver well-being. Thus, it is important to better understand the individual- and dyadic-level variables that may contribute to dysphagia-related caregiver burden. The aim of this preliminary study was to identify survivor-, caregiver-, and dyadic-specific factors associated with burden in couples experiencing poststroke dysphagia. Method Twenty-eight stroke survivors ("care recipients") with dysphagia and their spouses ("caregivers") participated. Care recipients and caregivers completed a survey from which scores for the following variables were derived: dysphagia-related caregiver burden, survivor- and spouse-perceived impact of dysphagia on mealtimes (social, mealtime logistics), dyadic congruence on perceived impact, International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative Functional Diet Scale, Swallowing-Related Quality of Life Scale, and Stroke Impact Scale (cognitive, emotional, physical, and social domains). Spearman's rho and point biserial correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the factors related to caregiver burden. Results Increased burden was significantly associated with greater care recipient- and spouse-perceived impact of dysphagia on mealtime logistics; however, burden was not associated with measures of dyadic congruence of perceived impact. Notably, increased burden was also associated with increased diet restrictiveness and decreased swallow-specific quality of life. Dysphagia-related caregiver burden was not associated with measures of stroke impact/severity across any domain. Conclusions Factors related to dysphagia-related caregiver burden are multifactorial and include both care recipient (e.g., International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative Functional Diet Scale, Swallowing-Related Quality of Life Scale, perceived impact of dysphagia on mealtime logistics) and caregiver (e.g., perceived impact of dysphagia on mealtime logistics) variables. The results of this preliminary investigation support the need to incorporate aspects of counseling and family-centered care into our management practices, a growing area of interest for speech-language pathologists.

Impaired Recognition of Emotional Faces after Stroke Involving Right Amygdala or Insula.

Despite its basic and translational importance, the neural circuitry supporting the perception of emotional faces remains incompletely understood. Functional imaging studies and chronic lesion studies indicate distinct roles of the amygdala and insula in recognition of fear and disgust in facial expressions, whereas intracranial encephalography studies, which are not encumbered by variations in human anatomy, indicate a somewhat different role of these structures. In this article, we leveraged lesion-mapping techniques in individuals with acute right hemisphere stroke to investigate lesions associated with impaired recognition of prototypic emotional faces before significant neural reorganization can occur during recovery from stroke. Right hemisphere stroke patients were significantly less accurate than controls on a test of emotional facial recognition for both positive and negative emotions. Patients with right amygdala or anterior insula lesions had significantly lower scores than other right hemisphere stroke patients on recognition of angry and happy faces. Lesion volume within several regions, including the right amygdala and anterior insula, each independently contributed to the error rate in recognition of individual emotions. Results provide additional support for a necessary role of the right amygdala and anterior insula within a network of regions underlying recognition of facial expressions, particularly those that have biological importance or motivational relevance and have implications for clinical practice.

Recovery of orthographic processing after stroke: A longitudinal fMRI study.

An intact orthographic processing system is critical for normal reading and spelling. Here we investigate the neural changes associated with impairment and subsequent recovery of the orthographic lexical processing system in an individual with an ischemic left posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke. This work describes a longitudinal case study of a patient, whose initials are MMY, with impairments in orthographic lexical processing for reading and spelling at stroke onset, and who recovered these skills within 1 year post stroke. We tested the hypothesis that this acute impairment to reading and spelling would be associated with a selective loss of neural activation in the left fusiform gyrus (FG), and that subsequent recovery would be associated with a gain of neural activation in this region. MMY's case provided a unique opportunity to assess the selectivity of neural changes because she demonstrated a behavioral recovery of naming as well; i.e., if there is neural recovery for reading and spelling, but not naming, then these neural changes are selective to the recovery of orthographic processing. To test our hypothesis, we examined longitudinal behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of reading, spelling, and visual object naming acquired acutely, 3 weeks, 5 months, and one year post stroke. In confirmation of our hypothesis, the loss and subsequent gain of orthographic lexical processing was associated with up-regulation of neural activation in areas previously associated with orthographic lexical processing: i.e., the left mid-FG and inferior frontal junction (IFJ). Furthermore, these neural changes were found to be selective to orthographic processing, as they were observed for reading and spelling, but not for visual object naming within the left mid-FG. This work shows that left PCA stroke can temporarily and selectively disrupt the orthographic lexical processing system, not only in the posterior region adjacent to the stroke, but also in relatively distant frontal orthographic processing regions.

Purification, auto-activation and kinetic characterization of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase I.

Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase I (ASK1) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAP3K) that activates the downstream MAP kinase kinases (MKKs) from two MAP kinase cascades: c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38. The essential physiological functions of ASK1 have attracted extensive attention. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of ASK1, including the activation mechanism of ASK1 and the catalytic mechanism of ASK1-mediated MKK phosphorylation, remain unclear. The lack of purified ASK1 protein has hindered the elucidation of ASK1-initiated signal transduction mechanisms. Here, we report a one-step chromatography method for the expression and purification of functional full-length ASK1 from Escherichia coli. The purified ASK1 demonstrates auto-phosphorylation activity. The kinase activity of auto-phosphorylated ASK1 (pASK1) was also evaluated on two MKK substrates, MKK4 and 7, from the JNK cascades. Our results show that MKK7 can be phosphorylated by pASK1 more effectively than MKK4. The steady-state kinetic analysis demonstrates that MKK7 is a better ASK1 substrate than MKK4. These observations are further confirmed by direct pull-down assays which shows ASK1 binds MKK7 significantly stronger than MKK4. Furthermore, robust phospho-tyrosine signal is observed in MKK4 phosphorylation by pASK1 in addition to the phospho-serine and phospho-threonine. This study provides novel mechanistic and kinetic insights into the ASK1-initiated MAPK signal transduction via highly controlled reconstructed protein systems.

Effectiveness of a comprehensive mental skills curriculum in enhancing surgical performance: Results of a randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized that the implementation of a novel mental skills curriculum (MSC) during laparoscopic simulator training would improve mental skills and performance, and decrease stress. METHODS: Sixty volunteer novices were randomized into intervention and control groups. All participants received FLS training while the intervention group also participated in the MSC. Skill transfer and retention were assessed on a live porcine model after training and 2 months later, respectively. Performance was assessed using the Test of Performance Strategies-2 (TOPS-2) for mental skills, FLS metrics for laparoscopic performance, and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6) and heart rate (HR) for stress. RESULTS: Fifty-five participants (92%) completed training and the transfer test, and 46 (77%) the retention test. There were no significant differences between groups at baseline. Compared to controls the intervention group significantly improved their mental skill use, demonstrated higher laparoscopic skill improvement during retention, and reported less stress during the transfer test. CONCLUSIONS: The MSC implemented in this study effectively enhanced participants' mental skill use, reduced cognitive stress in the operating room with a small impact on laparoscopic performance.

Implementation results of a novel comprehensive mental skills curriculum during simulator training.

BACKGROUND: Mental skills training refers to the implementation of cognitive performance-enhancing strategies to promote optimal performance. We aimed to develop a surgery-specific mental skills curriculum (MSC) and obtain initial evidence of efficacy. METHODS: The developed MSC consisted of 8 proven performance-enhancing modules. Its efficacy was assessed during laparoscopic simulator-based practice by novices using validated instruments of mental skills, workload, and stress, in addition to a skill transfer test to a porcine model. A paired t test was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Nine surgical novices completed the curriculum. Compared with baseline assessment, participants improved significantly their laparoscopic performance and mental skills after completion of the MSC. All participants completed the task in the porcine model without an appreciable change in their perceived stress. During the skill transfer test, 8 participants were observed using mental skills taught in the MSC. CONCLUSIONS: A surgery-specific simulator-based MSC was developed, and its efficacy in improving mental skills and surgical performance was supported during a surgical skill transfer test.

Effectiveness of a mental skills curriculum to reduce novices' stress.

BACKGROUND: Stress has been shown to negatively impact surgical performance, and surgical novices are particularly susceptible to its effects. Mental skills are psychological strategies designed to enhance performance and reduce the impact of stress to consistently facilitate the ideal mental conditions that enable performers to perform their best. Mental skills have been used routinely in other high-stress domains (e.g., with Navy SEALs, military pilots, elite athletes, and so forth) to facilitate optimal performance in challenging situations. We have developed a novel mental skills curriculum (MSC) to aid surgical trainees in optimizing their performance under stressful conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of this MSC in reducing novices' stress. METHODS: The MSC was implemented with a convenience sample of surgical novices over 8 wk. Two stress tests were administered before and after completion of the MSC to assess its effectiveness in reducing trainee stress. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a validated method of measuring participants' stress responses; it was implemented by giving participants 10 min to prepare for an impromptu presentation and 5 min to present it in front of a medical education expert who would be assessing them. The O'Connor Tweezer Dexterity Test (OTDT) is a test of fine motor dexterity; participants competed against each other in small groups who would complete the test the fastest. Such competition has been shown to cause acute stress in performers. To assess stress, heart rate (HR), perceived stress (STAI-6), and perceived workload (NASA-TLX) were completed during all testing sessions. RESULTS: Nine novices (age 23 ± 7 y, 55% women) completed the MSC. HR increased significantly from resting to performance during the TSST and from early during competition (at 2 min and 30 s of elapsed time) to immediately after completing the task. However, participants perceived less stress during and immediately after the TSST and OTDT tests (P < 0.05) after completion of the MSC. In addition, they reported significantly less workload during the second OTDT administration (P < 0.05) and showed a trend toward faster completion of this test. CONCLUSIONS: The novel MSC was effective at reducing surgical novices' perceived stress and workload during two comprehensive stress tests. Although not statistically significant, participant's enhanced performance during the OTDT is encouraging. This curriculum may be valuable to help inexperienced learners reduce stress in a variety of situations related to learning and performing surgical skills. Additional research using a larger sample size is currently underway to validate the effectiveness of this curriculum.

Picturing the Size and Site of Stroke With an Expanded National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) includes minimal assessment of cognitive function, particularly in right hemisphere (RH) stroke. Descriptions of the Cookie Theft picture from the NIHSS allow analyses that (1) correlate with aphasia severity and (2) identify communication deficits in RH stroke. We hypothesized that analysis of the picture description contributes valuable information about volume and location of acute stroke. METHODS: We evaluated 67 patients with acute ischemic stroke (34 left hemisphere [LH]; 33 RH) with the NIHSS, analysis of the Cookie Theft picture, and magnetic resonance imaging, compared with 35 sex- and age-matched controls. We evaluated descriptions for total content units (CU), syllables, ratio of left:right CU, CU/minute, and percent interpretive CU, based on previous studies. Lesion volume and percent damage to regions of interest were measured on diffusion-weighted imaging. Multivariable linear regression identified variables associated with infarct volume, independently of NIHSS score, age and sex. RESULTS: Patients with RH and LH stroke differed from controls, but not from each other, on CU, syllables/CU, and CU/minute. Left:right CU was lower in RH compared with LH stroke. CU, syllables/CU, and NIHSS each correlated with lesion volume in LH and RH stroke. Lesion volume was best accounted by a model that included CU, syllables/CU, NIHSS, left:right CU, percent interpretive CU, and age, in LH and RH stroke. Each discourse variable and NIHSS score were associated with percent damage to different regions of interest, independently of lesion volume and age. CONCLUSIONS: Brief picture description analysis complements NIHSS scores in predicting stroke volume and location.

Imaging network level language recovery after left PCA stroke.

PURPOSE: The neural mechanisms that support aphasia recovery are not yet fully understood. Our goal was to evaluate longitudinal changes in naming recovery in participants with posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke using a case-by-case analysis. METHODS: Using task based and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and detailed language testing, we longitudinally studied the recovery of the naming network in four participants with PCA stroke with naming deficits at the acute (0 week), sub acute (3-5 weeks), and chronic time point (5-7 months) post stroke. Behavioral and imaging analyses (task related and resting state functional connectivity) were carried out to elucidate longitudinal changes in naming recovery. RESULTS: Behavioral and imaging analysis revealed that an improvement in naming accuracy from the acute to the chronic stage was reflected by increased connectivity within and between left and right hemisphere "language" regions. One participant who had persistent moderate naming deficit showed weak and decreasing connectivity longitudinally within and between left and right hemisphere language regions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize a network view of aphasia recovery, and show that the degree of inter- and intra- hemispheric balance between the language-specific regions is necessary for optimal recovery of naming, at least in participants with PCA stroke.

The association of insular stroke with lesion volume.

The insula has been implicated in many sequelae of stroke. It is the area most commonly infarcted in people with post-stroke arrhythmias, loss of thermal sensation, hospital acquired pneumonia, and apraxia of speech. We hypothesized that some of these results reflect the fact that: (1) ischemic strokes that involve the insula are larger than strokes that exclude the insula (and therefore are associated with more common and persistent deficits); and (2) insular involvement is a marker of middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. We analyzed MRI scans of 861 patients with acute ischemic hemispheric strokes unselected for functional deficits, and compared infarcts involving the insula to infarcts not involving the insula using t-tests for continuous variables and chi square tests for dichotomous variables. Mean infarct volume was larger for infarcts including the insula (n = 232) versus excluding the insula (n = 629): 65.8 ± 78.8 versus 10.2 ± 15.9 cm(3) (p < 0.00001). Even when we removed lacunar infarcts, mean volume of non-lacunar infarcts that included insula (n = 775) were larger than non-lacunar infarcts (n = 227) that excluded insula: 67.0 cm(3) ± 79.2 versus 11.5 cm(3) ± 16.7 (p < 0.00001). Of infarcts in the 90th percentile for volume, 87% included the insula (χ(2) = 181.8; p < 0.00001). Furthermore, 79.0% infarcts due to MCA occlusion included the insula; 78.5% of infarcts without MCA occlusion excluded the insula (χ(2) = 93.1; p < 0.0001). The association between insular damage and acute or chronic sequelae likely often reflects the fact that insular infarct is a marker of large infarcts caused by occlusion of the MCA more than a specific role of the insula in a range of functions. Particularly in acute stroke, some deficits may also be due to ischemia of the MCA or ICA territory caused by large vessel occlusion.

Cerebellar tDCS: A Novel Approach to Augment Language Treatment Post-stroke.

People with post-stroke aphasia may have some degree of chronic deficit for which current rehabilitative treatments are variably effective. Accumulating evidence suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be useful for enhancing the effects of behavioral aphasia treatment. However, it remains unclear which brain regions should be stimulated to optimize effects on language recovery. Here, we report on the therapeutic potential of right cerebellar tDCS in augmenting language recovery in SMY, who sustained bilateral MCA infarct resulting in aphasia and anarthria. We investigated the effects of 15 sessions of anodal cerebellar tDCS coupled with spelling therapy using a randomized, double-blind, sham controlled within-subject crossover trial. We also investigated changes in functional connectivity using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging before and 2 months post-treatment. Both anodal and sham treatments resulted in improved spelling to dictation for trained and untrained words immediately after and 2 months post-treatment. However, there was greater improvement with tDCS than with sham, especially for untrained words. Further, generalization to written picture naming was only noted during tDCS but not with sham. The resting state functional connectivity data indicate that improvement in spelling was accompanied by an increase in cerebro-cerebellar network connectivity. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of right cerebellar tDCS to augment spelling therapy in an individual with large bilateral chronic strokes.

White matter tracts critical for recognition of sarcasm.

Failure to recognize sarcasm can lead to important miscommunications. Few previous studies have identified brain lesions associated with impaired recognition of sarcasm. We tested the hypothesis that percent damage to specific white matter tracts, age, and education together predict accuracy in sarcasm recognition. Using multivariable linear regression, with age, education, and percent damage to each of eight white matter tracts as independent variables, and percent accuracy on sarcasm recognition as the dependent variable, we developed a model for predicting sarcasm recognition. Percent damage to the sagittal stratum had the greatest weight and was the only independent predictor of sarcasm recognition.

Acute Ischemic Lesions Associated with Impairments in Expression and Recognition of Affective Prosody.

PURPOSE: We aimed to: (a) review existing data on the neural basis of affective prosody;(b) test the hypothesis that there are double dissociations in impairments of expression and recognition of affective prosody; and (c) identify areas of infarct associated with impaired expression and/or recognition of affective prosody after acute right hemisphere (RH) ischemic stroke. METHODS: Participants were tested on recognition of emotional prosody in content-neutral sentences. Expression was evaluated by measuring variability in fundamental frequency. Voxel-based symptom mapping was used to identify areas associated with severity of expressive deficits. RESULTS: We found that 9/23 patients had expressive prosody impairments; 5/9 of these patients also had impaired recognition of affective prosody; 2/9 had selective deficits in expressive prosody; recognition was not tested in 2/9. Another 6/23 patients had selective impairment in recognition of affective prosody. Severity of expressive deficits was associated with lesions in right temporal pole; patients with temporal pole lesions had deficits in expression and recognition. CONCLUSIONS: Expression and recognition of prosody can be selectively impaired. Damage to right anterior temporal pole is associated with impairment of both, indicating a role of this structure in a mechanism shared by expression and production of affective prosody.

Aphasia or Neglect after Thalamic Stroke: The Various Ways They may be Related to Cortical Hypoperfusion.

Although aphasia and hemispatial neglect are classically labeled as cortical deficits, language deficits or hemispatial neglect following lesions to subcortical regions have been reported in many studies. However, whether or not aphasia and hemispatial neglect can be caused by subcortical lesions alone has been a matter of controversy. It has been previously shown that most cases of aphasia or hemispatial neglect due to acute non-thalamic subcortical infarcts can be accounted for by concurrent cortical hypoperfusion due to arterial stenosis or occlusion, reversible by restoring blood flow to the cortex. In this study, we evaluated whether aphasia or neglect occur after acute thalamic infarct without cortical hypoperfusion due to arterial stenosis or occlusion. Twenty patients with isolated acute thalamic infarcts (10 right and 10 left) underwent MRI scanning and detailed cognitive testing. Results revealed that 5/10 patients with left thalamic infarcts had aphasia and only 1 had cortical hypoperfusion, whereas 2/10 patients with right thalamic infarcts had hemispatial neglect and both had cortical hypoperfusion. These findings indicate that aphasia was observed in some cases of isolated left thalamic infarcts without cortical hypoerfusion due to arterial stenosis or occlusion (measured with time-to-peak delays), but neglect occurred after isolated right thalamic infarcts only when there was cortical hypoperfusion due to arterial stenosis or occlusion. Therefore, neglect after acute right thalamic infarct should trigger evaluation for cortical hypoperfusion that might improve with restoration of blood flow. Further investigation in a larger group of patients and with other imaging modalities is warranted to confirm these findings.

The roles of occipitotemporal cortex in reading, spelling, and naming.

We evaluated the hypothesis that Brodmann's area (BA) 37 within left occipitotemporal cortex has at least two important functions in lexical processing. One role is the computation of case-, font-, location-, and orientation-independent grapheme descriptions for written word recognition and production (reading and spelling). This role may depend on the medial part of BA 37, in left midfusiform gyrus. The second role is in accessing modality-independent lexical representations for output, for naming and for reading and spelling of irregular or exception words. This role may depend on the lateral part of BA 37 in inferior temporal cortex. We tested these hypotheses in 234 participants with acute left hemisphere ischaemic stroke who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and language testing within 48 hours of onset of stroke symptoms.

Augmentation of spelling therapy with transcranial direct current stimulation in primary progressive aphasia: Preliminary results and challenges.

BACKGROUND: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects language functions and often begins in the fifth or sixth decade of life. The devastating effects on work and family life call for the investigation of treatment alternatives. In this article, we present new data indicating that neuromodulatory treatment, using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with a spelling intervention, shows some promise for maintaining or even improving language, at least temporarily, in PPA. AIMS: The main aim of the present article is to determine whether tDCS plus spelling intervention is more effective than spelling intervention alone in treating written language in PPA. We also asked whether the effects of tDCS are sustained longer than the effects of spelling intervention alone. METHODS & PROCEDURES: We present data from six PPA participants who underwent anodal tDCS or sham plus spelling intervention in a within-subject crossover design. Each stimulation condition lasted 3 weeks or a total of 15 sessions with a 2-month interval in between. Participants were evaluated on treatment tasks as well as on other language and cognitive tasks at 2-week and 2-month follow-up intervals after each stimulation condition. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: All participants showed improvement in spelling (with sham or tDCS). There was no difference in the treated items between the two conditions. There was, however, consistent and significant improvement for untrained items only in the tDCS plus spelling intervention condition. Furthermore, the improvement lasted longer in the tDCS plus spelling intervention condition compared to sham plus spelling intervention condition. CONCLUSIONS: Neuromodulation with tDCS offers promise as a means of augmenting language therapy to improve written language function at least temporarily in PPA. The consistent finding of generalisation of treatment benefits to untreated items and the superior sustainability of treatment effects with tDCS justifies further investigations. However, the small sample size still requires caution in interpretation. Present interventions need to be optimised, and particular challenges, such as ways to account for the variable effect of degeneration in each individual, are discussed.