Lacey, E. 1 , Gordon, B. 1 & Hillis, A. 2
1 Cognitive Neurology/Neuropsychology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
2 Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
Studying the breakdown of language due to degenerative processes in relatively circumscribed brain areas has provided information about where different aspects of language might be stored in the brain. The treatment of impaired language processes and assessment of generalization effects can also tell us how the areas supporting these processes might be interconnected. The brain stimulation technique transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which involves the passing of weak electrical currents through the scalp and skull, has been shown to improve performance in degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, but has not yet been used in primary progressive aphasia (PPA). The current study used tDCS and behavioral methods to treat noun writing in a person with PPA. Results indicate that tDCS applied over posterior temporal lobe improves noun writing and that this effect may generalize to both written and oral production of verbs. Ongoing data collection examines the effects on noun and verb production of applying tDCS to frontal regions. Results for this participant and others will be discussed in terms of therapeutic mechanisms of tDCS for this population as well as the potential benefits of tDCS in studying noun and verb processing.