Article Analysis

The purpose of the article, “tDCS over the left interior frontal cortex improves speech

production in aphasia,” was to determine the effectiveness of combining tDCS (transcranial

direct current stimulation) and Conversational therapy to help improve non-fluent subjects with

aphasia. The research study focused on language recovery in terms of language and functional

use among 12 participants with non-fluent aphasia presenting with reduced C-units and

grammar.

The researchers hypothesized that if the Broca’s area is the main location that initiates

recovery words, then this study should show effectiveness and improvement on participants'

speech and language. They also hypothesized that after their experiment is conducted, the

participants’ verb usage will increase since verbs play an imperative role in the formation of

informative communication. Researchers continued to hypothesize that by combining tDCS with

Conversational therapy it will drastically improve their linguistic skills.

The participants that were included in this research study consisted of 20 healthy

individuals with no history of aphasia or mental illness and spoke fluent Italian for the control

group, and 12 participants who had acquired a single left hemisphere stroke, causing them to be

non-fluent especially during spontaneous speech. Every single participant was informed of the

details of this study and have written and signed the informed consent form. It is important to

note that they had sustained an ischemic stroke on their left hemisphere. All the participants that

had aphasia had issues with word finding, reading, writing, and understanding/comprehending

verbal inputs.
 For the assessing of aphasia disorders, the researchers utilized two standardized language

assessments, one called the BADA (battery for the analysis of aphasic disorders), and another

called the Token test. To eliminate any bias when it came to the tDCS and conversational

therapy, the participants were given a variety of different evaluations such as attention and visual

memory analysis.

The procedure that took place consisted of the transcranial direct current stimulation

(tDCS) and the language treatment. The stimulation is a noninvasive technique and is applied to

the skin for 20 minutes with a constant current of 1 mA intensity. The experimental group will be

going through 2 stimulations, one in Broca’s area and one in Wernicke’s. A sham condition was

included. It is also important to note that the subjects were blinded to the order of the

stimulations; the Conversational therapy would be happening during their stimulation period as

well. The language therapy served the purpose of using everyday conversation to help the person

with aphasia to communicate with whatever resources were available to them now, and that

would include coloring, writing, gesturing, etc. To make sure that generalization occurred, before

and after every experimental condition (Broca’s and Wernicke’s) the subjects would be given the

language tests again and use the G videoclips for reference when the subjects describe them. The

purpose is to be able to allow the person with aphasia to talk independently without any

prompting or support from the therapist. For data collection, two therapists would score on their

own and later compare their data.

Their research study concluded that for C-units, verbs, and sentences, only the Broca’s

mean average showed the best scores against the Wernicke’s and Sham conditions. After the

researchers have finalized and accuracy reported their statistical analysis, their experimentation

proposes that stimulation of the Broca’s area would significantly impact a non-fluent person with
aphasia in terms of language improvement and overall informativeness(C-units). The

generalization of their findings did occur because their participants continued to show, even after

one month of treatment, the advancement and growth in their speech and language. The only

reasonable explanation is that the brain, due to the stimulations, were allowing for more neuron

networking, strengthening, and connecting. Therefore, their study has shown that the Broca’s

area is indeed an area that is central for initiating and choosing meaningful words in the

appropriate context.