There are about 15 million strokes worldwide each year. Of this group, about 30% suffer from aphasia. Aphasia is a speech-language disorder associated with exceptional difficulty performing daily communication activities. If no improvement is observed within the first months after the stroke, a complete recovery is unlikely, and the therapy can last for years.~Up to date, speech and language therapy is a standard of care for post-stroke aphasia, however the process is long and demanding.~In the past, several clinical trials aimed to verify the efficacy of language training paired with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), however recent meta-analysis indicates only possible effectiveness (Level C evidence) of anodal tDCS in chronic post-stroke aphasia.~To boost the effects of aphasia rehabilitation, effective brain stimulation protocol still needs to be developed.~Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can be an interesting alternative to tDCS, as it is able to influence cortical excitability and activity.~Stimulation within high gamma oscillations (60-500Hz) might allow for better speech-language processing, as this band is considered to be the cognitive index of linguistic processes. Moreover, a short period of 75Hz tACS over the motor cortex suggested the positive impact of high-gamma tACS on brain plasticity.~The aim of this RCT is to determine whether 75Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) paired with therapeutic linguistic tasks is an effective form of therapy for post-stroke aphasia, measured as an ability to name trained items at 12 weeks follow-up.
The aim of the trial is to determine whether 75Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) synchronized with therapeutic linguistic tasks is an effective form of therapy for post-stroke aphasia.