Acquired Dyslexia Modeling and Treatment

NCT07209488 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: Pro2025001100R56DC022256
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 12
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

This study is a low-risk, early phase 1, multicenter trial to test the use of a computational (neural network) cognitive model of reading to simulate acquired dyslexia and its treatment. The aim is to determine whether there is an advantage to receiving the treatment the model predicts to be advantageous compared to the alternative treatment. All participants will receive two full rounds of treatment. A round of treatment will consist of either phonomotor treatment (PMT) or semantic feature analysis (SFA) for 60 hours, distributed over 5 days a week for 2 hours a day.

Conditions

Stroke; Dyslexia, Acquired

Keywords

reading; computational model; treatment; therapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - III

  The WRMT-III is a standardized measure of reading skills.

  Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.

• Test words and pseudowords

  Change in accuracy of reading 120 test words and 80 pseudowords

  Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Western Aphasia Battery - Revised

  Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.

• Comprehensive Aphasia Test - Disability Quotient

  Baseline, following the first 60 hours of therapy, and following the final 60 hours of therapy.

Study Arms (2)

Model-matched

EXPERIMENTAL

This group will receive the therapy, either phonological or semantics-based, that matches the computational model prediction for the source of their reading impairment. They will receive this for the first 60 total hours of therapy, and for the second 60 hours of therapy.

Behavioral: Phono-Motor Therapy; Behavioral: Semantic Feature Analysis

Model-non-matched

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

This group will receive the therapy, either phonological or semantics-based, that does not match the computational model prediction for the source of their reading impairment. They will receive this for the first 60 total hours of therapy. For the second 60 hours, they will receive the other therapy.

Behavioral: Phono-Motor Therapy; Behavioral: Semantic Feature Analysis

Interventions

Phono-Motor Therapy BEHAVIORAL

Orthographic stimuli (letters) are introduced from the beginning as each phoneme is being trained. This maintains the focus on phonology, while emphasizing its relevance to reading. PMT consists of an initial phase focused on training of individual phonemes and phoneme sequences in spoken language, followed by written language tasks. English phonemes are first trained in isolation, followed by phoneme sequences in words and pseudowords. They are trained multi-modally through emphasis on auditory, motor, tactile-kinesthetic, visual, and orthographic representations for each consonant and vowel. When sequences are introduced, focus on phonology is maintained by training on pseudowords first before real words are introduced. Participants work on identifying, repeating, parsing, blending, and manipulating phonemes that make up the pseudoword and word stimuli. To maintain focus on phonology, pictures and definitions of the stimuli are never shown or discussed.

Also known as: PMT

Model-matched; Model-non-matched

Semantic Feature Analysis BEHAVIORAL

SFA activates semantic features of the target word to help retrieve the spoken form of the word. To target reading, a modified SFA is used with written words rather than pictures as the primary materials. Pictures are instead included for each word as a semantic feature. Stimuli will consist of 80 highly imageable nouns with a range of word frequencies. During treatment the therapist will present a written noun and ask the participant a series of questions about the features of that noun. For example, if the presented noun is "juice", the therapist would have the participant select the corresponding picture from an array of pictures. The therapist then would ask, "what do you do with it?" (eliciting a feature from the "function" category) and "where do you store it in your home?" (eliciting a feature from the "context" category). This is done for a total of 6 categories of semantic features. The process is repeated until the participant reads the noun correctly three times in a row.

Also known as: SFA

Model-matched; Model-non-matched

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 85 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: All participants in the study population will be given equal consideration for inclusion, and no preference will be given on the basis of gender. This measure is based on self-representation of gender identity.
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Fluent in English as a first language pre-stroke by self report.
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
• Normal or aided hearing.
• Left hemisphere ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke (as verified by a structural brain scan).
• Impaired reading as confirmed by significant impairment in the Basic Skills cluster of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - III.

You may not qualify if:

• Diagnosed pre-stroke neurological disease affecting the brain other than left hemisphere stroke.
• Severe apraxia of speech (determined by consensus judgment among speech-language pathologists).
• History of learning disabilities such as developmental dyslexia or current self-reported major psychiatric disorders.
• Inability to undergo, or provide a copy of, a post-stroke brain imaging scan.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey: lead
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD): collaborator

Study Sites (3)

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, United States

RECRUITING

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States

RECRUITING

Kessler Foundation

West Orange, New Jersey, 07052, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stroke; Dyslexia, Acquired

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Dyslexia; Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Specific Learning Disorder; Learning Disabilities; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Study Officials

• William W Graves, PhD

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

William W Graves, PhD

CONTACT

973-353-3947; william.graves@rutgers.edu

Olga Boukrina, PhD

CONTACT

973-324-3587; OBoukrina@KesslerFoundation.org

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: The study model is a partial crossover design in that participants receiving model-matched therapy will continue with the same therapy in the 2nd half of the study, while those receiving the non-model-matched therapy will be switched in the 2nd half to the other therapy.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 2, 2025
• First Posted: October 7, 2025
• Study Start: December 3, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: We will make the behavioral and brain MRI data available through the Open Science Framework (OSF) repository as soon as possible, and no later than the time of an associated publication or end of the performance period, whichever comes first. We will also make the data available for as long as we anticipate it being useful for the larger research community, institutions, and/or the broader public.
• Access Criteria: Access will be freely available by anyone using the OSF.

Locations

US (3)