Combination of Verb Network Strengthening Treatment with TMS and tDCS: Preliminary Results

Arina Razmyslovich ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Olga Buivolova ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia;
Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies, Moscow, Russia

Anastasia Samoukina ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Tatiana Abramova ^✉

Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies, Moscow, Russia

Ekaterina Iskra ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia;
Center for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation, Moscow, Russia

Ekaterina Ivanova ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Maria Ivanova ^✉

University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

Olga Pakholiuk ^✉

University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Victoria Pozdniakova ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia;
Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Anastasia Shlyakhova ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Olga Soloukhina ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Yulia Voronkova ^✉

Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies, Moscow, Russia

Galina E. Ivanova ^✉

Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies, Moscow, Russia

Svetlana Malyutina ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Olga Dragoy ^✉

Center for Language and Brain, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia;
Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies, Moscow, Russia

Abstract

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques combined with behavioral speech/language therapies have recently been suggested as a promising method for language recovery in people with aphasia (PWA). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are currently the most common types of NIBS for aphasia rehabilitation. In this study, we combined either rTMS or tDCS with a behavioral therapy approach, Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST), that has neither been used before in a Russian-speaking post-stroke population nor combined with any type of NIBS. In a case series study, we demonstrate the results of two groups of participants: 1) 4 PWA who received one daily session of VNeST preceded by 20-minutes of rTMS for 8 – 12 days; and 2) 4 PWA who received 2 sessions of VNeST a day, with the first 20 minutes of the first daily session combined with tDCS, for 10 days. We assessed the accuracy of action naming and sentence production and found a significant improvement in sentence production in the tDCS + VNeST group, while the other group did not show a significant improvement in these tasks. Interestingly, we found a correlation between improvement in sentence production and the number of sessions regardless of the stimulation type and another correlation between improvement in action naming and initial aphasia severity. This study is a first attempt to apply the combination of these techniques in Russian. Our preliminary findings prompt larger-scale research to study the potential of this method.

Keywords: non-invasive brain stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST), stroke, aphasia, Russian language

Article language: English

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АРА Style:

Razmyslovich, A., Buivolova, O., Samoukina, A., Abramova, T., Iskra, E., Ivanova, E., Ivanova, M., Pakholiuk, O., Pozdniakova, V., Shlyakhova, A., Soloukhina, O., Voronkova, Yu., Ivanova, G.E., Malyutina, S., & Dragoy, O. (2021). Combination of Verb Network Strengthening Treatment with TMS and tDCS: Preliminary results.The Russian Journal of Cognitive Science, 8(3), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.47010/21.3.3

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