# Exercising language: Behavioral and neurophysiological changes after high-intensity exercise training in post-stroke aphasia.

> **NIH NIH R56** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2023 · $712,546

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Losing the ability to speak and understand language is devastating for patients with aphasia and their
families, negatively impacting multiple aspects of life and emotional well-being. Unfortunately, individuals with
aphasia rarely regain their language skills in full. Novel approaches are required that boost the effects of
traditional therapies, leading to better outcomes for people with aphasia.
 The proposed study seeks to evaluate the effects of a promising adjuvant intervention - physical exercise
training - on recovery in aphasia. A new exercise program, specifically designed for individuals with post-stroke
aphasia, will be the means of providing a safe, stroke- and aphasia-friendly physical exercise intervention to
achieve optimal physical fitness gains. This will also be the first large scale study in aphasia to systematically
examine the additive and enhancing effects of combining physical exercise training with traditional language
therapy. Innovative outcome measures will include not only language and cognitive measures but also measures
of motor skills and psychological and psychosocial outcomes that will assess the benefits of physical exercise.
Another cutting-edge aspect of the study is the inclusion of advanced physiological fitness measures and
neuroimaging metrics of blood flow and cerebrovascular reactivity as outcome measures to afford a deeper
understanding of the exercise-mediated behavioral and neural effects in stroke survivors.
 We will recruit 110 individuals with aphasia to evaluate the multifaceted impact of exercise on behavioral
and physical outcomes in isolation and in combination with traditional speech-language therapy. First, the
benefits of physical exercise for language, cognition, motor, and emotional and psychological well-being in
individuals with aphasia will be established. Of particular importance will be an enhanced understanding of how
exercise can boost the effects of existing speech-language therapies. Second, determining how exercise-induced
changes in physical fitness are related to changes in language and cognitive measures will provide insight into
key ingredients of successful exercise interventions. Third, evaluation of the exercise-induced neurovascular
changes that relate to behavioral improvements, as measured with novel blood supply neuroimaging tools, will
advance our knowledge about the brain mechanisms of the observed cognitive benefits. Finally, the validated
physical exercise intervention, resulting from this project, will offer a new tool to clinicians seeking to help
individuals with aphasia, either as a free-standing program to enhance physical health, cognition, and well-being,
or as an adjunct therapy to standard speech-language therapy. Ultimately, this work could significantly alter our
thinking about adjuvant aphasia therapies that can benefit those affected by stroke and aphasia through non-
traditional means, in this case, a promising, safe, and cost...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10862024
- **Project number:** 1R56DC020700-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria V. Ivanova
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $712,546
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-08-01 → 2025-05-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10862024

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10862024, Exercising language: Behavioral and neurophysiological changes after high-intensity exercise training in post-stroke aphasia. (1R56DC020700-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10862024. Licensed CC0.

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