Are you interested in undertaking a PhD in Aphasia Research. Please click her to link to the PhD information advertised on the UTAS website.
Short project Title: Critical ingredients of aphasia therapy
Long project Title: Critical ingredients of multilevel aphasia therapies measured through change in language, cognition and functional brain connectivity
Detailed Research Project Description: This program of research aims to (1) compare two multilevel language interventions for people with post-stroke aphasia via change to language and cognition, (2) identify critical ingredients of treatment that will enhance transfer of skills learnt in therapy to everyday functional use, and (3) understand variability seen in response to therapy for post-stroke aphasia. The PhD program will carry out an RCT comparing a novel multilevel (word, sentence and discourse-level) language intervention, Narrative Treatment in Aphasia (NARNIA) (Whitworth et al, 2015), that has been developed by the supervisory team – Whitworth and Cartwright [UTAS] and Webster [UK] that has demonstrated the most promising evidence of generalised gains in everyday communication to date, with a current best practice protocol which aims to strengthen language connections between words within sentences (VNeST). NARNIA’s unique integration of language within everyday communication is hypothesised to be critical to success.
A subgroup of participants will be explored at a neurobiological level, measuring change in functional brain networks, collaborating with the team at the NHMRC funded Centre for Research Excellence in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation, University of Queensland. Mapping neural recruitment and change in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of language and cognitive networks will enable us to explore variability and predict who is most responsive to different interventions. Professor David Copland’s team, including Dr Sonia Brownsett, from the NHMRC funded Centre for Research Excellence in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation (Whitworth and Cartwright are affiliates of the Centre) and the Queensland Aphasia Research centre, will be steering the structural and fMRI component of the study, with plans to collaborate with the Menzies Institute of Medical Research.
This study is part of a larger program of work evaluating NARNIA with different neurologically impaired populations, aiming to understand the theoretical underpinnings of multilevel language therapies and the interaction with cognition.