# Neural Correlates of Recovery from Aphasia After Stroke

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2022 · $537,078

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Aphasia is one of the most common and debilitating consequences of stroke. Aphasia is caused by damage to
language regions of the brain, which are usually localized to the left hemisphere. Fortunately, most individuals
with aphasia after a stroke experience some degree of recovery of language function over time. The pace of
recovery is greatest in the first weeks and months, but clinically meaningful gains in language function are
possible even years after stroke. Recovery from aphasia is thought to depend on neural plasticity, that is,
functional reorganization of surviving brain regions such that they take on new or expanded roles in language
processing. However, despite much research, the mechanisms that underlie this process of functional
reorganization remain poorly understood. The overall goals of this project are to better characterize the neural
correlates of recovery from aphasia after stroke, and to determine which patterns of functional reorganization
are associated with more or less favorable language outcomes. To address major limitations of prior studies,
we will use a range of innovative approaches. Adaptive language mapping paradigms will be used to identify
language regions in a reliable and valid manner, while minimizing performance confounds. We will recruit large
numbers of patients at two established sites, enabling rigorous statistical approaches such as linear mixed
models and permutation testing. Advanced machine learning algorithms will allow us to disentangle complex
relationships between structural damage, neurofunctional changes, and language outcomes. We will study two
complementary cohorts of patients—acute and chronic—longitudinally using the same multimodal functional
and structural MRI protocol, and the same language evaluations. In the acute cohort, we will investigate the
dynamics of early recovery and functional reorganization, while in the chronic cohort, we will identify
relationships between patterns of reorganization and language outcomes in a larger sample, and track the
neural correlates of recovery in the chronic phase. Our first specific aim is to build predictive models of the
trajectory of evolving aphasia profiles based on structural neuroimaging, including lesion location and extent,
as well as multiple measures of the integrity of surviving tissue, and other clinical variables. Our second
specific aim is to characterize the brain regions recruited for language processing in people with aphasia, and
to identify patterns that are associated with more or less favorable outcomes. Critically, the key analyses will
use the predictive models from Aim 1 to determine which patterns of functional reorganization result in better or
worse outcomes relative to what would be expected on the basis of structural and clinical factors alone. Our
third aim is to identify changes in functional activity associated with gains in language function over time, again
in the context of the predictive...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10407501
- **Project number:** 5R01DC013270-08
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephen M Wilson
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $537,078
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-06-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10407501

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10407501, Neural Correlates of Recovery from Aphasia After Stroke (5R01DC013270-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10407501. Licensed CC0.

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