Sponsored by the UCLA Brain Mapping Center Faculty
The focus of these talks is on advancing the use of brain mapping methods in neuroscience with an emphasis on contemporary issues of neuroplasticity, neurodevelopment, and biomarker development in neuropsychiatric disease.
Hosted By: Roger Woods, MD, Neurology, UCLA
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Roy H. Hamilton, MD, MS Associate Professor Neurology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Director, Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation (LCNS) University of Pennsylvania |
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Aphasia is the most common focal deficit of cognition associated with stroke, and language deficits are also common in patients with neurodegenerative disorders of cognition. While behavioral speech and language interventions provide some benefit, targeted, neurally-focused interventions for aphasia remain lacking. However, a mounting body of evidence suggests that noninvasive neuromodulation techniques like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be employed to enhance language recovery in persons with aphasia. These same tools can be employed to elucidate new knowledge about the nature of intact language system and the properties of neuroplasticity in the intact and damaged brain. We will give an overview of over a decade of work done by members of our laboratory and by others which employ TMS and tDCS, both to characterize the language system and to enhance the potential for recovery in persons with aphasia due to either stroke or neurodegenerative disorders. We will also identify current gaps in the field of neuromodulation as it pertains to aphasia, and further suggest future steps to advance neuromodulation in language research and to move noninvasive brain stimulation technologies toward widespread clinical use.
