Neurofeedback Intervention for Reading Deficits in Subacute Stroke

Rehabilitation of Reading Deficits in Subacute Stroke Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Neurofeedback and Motor Imagery

The overall goal of this project is to advance a biologically-based approach to treatment of reading disorders after stroke, which will expand the limits of cognitive rehabilitation. Using a novel brain imaging technique, called real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback combined with right hand motor imagery, this project will re-instate brain activity in the left language-dominant hemisphere. Stroke patients will practice modulating their own brain activity using fMRI neurofeedback signal and will select the most effective mental strategies that help them maintain brain activation patterns associated with better reading recovery.

Inclusion Criteria:

• First-ever left-hemisphere stroke < 3 months prior to study recruitment or healthy volunteer
• Age: 18 - 80 years old
• Fluent and literate in English prior to stroke
• Reading deficits, defined as >3 errors on the Paragraphs test (subtests VIII, IX) of the Reading Comprehension Battery for Aphasia-2nd ed. (RCBA-2) in keeping with the healthy control accuracy criterion of 86-100% correct.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to consent or complete study tasks
• Inability to undergo MRI (e.g., pregnancy, non-MRI compatible implants, claustrophobia)
• A history of prior neurological disease (e.g., brain tumor, Alzheimer's disease)