SynthesisPloS one2014
Effect of low-frequency rTMS on aphasia in stroke patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of rTMS in patients with poststroke aphasia: a systematic review and focused meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022Pooled it
- Piracetam for Aphasia in Post-stroke Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.CNS drugs · 2016Pooled it
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined With Multimodality Aphasia Therapy for Chronic Poststroke Aphasia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Neurology · 2025Trial
- The Effectiveness of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Paradigms as Treatment Options for Recovery of Language Deficits in Chronic Poststroke Aphasia.Behavioural neurology · 2022Trial
- Transcranial static magnetic stimulation over the motor cortex can facilitate the contralateral cortical excitability in human.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- The Effect of rTMS over the Different Targets on Language Recovery in Stroke Patients with Global Aphasia: A Randomized Sham-Controlled Study.BioMed research international · 2019Trial
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined with Speech-Language Therapy for Post-Stroke Aphasia Recovery: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2026Review
- Semantic and Phonological Abilities Inform Efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Sustained Aphasia Treatment Outcomes.Neurobiology of language (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Efficacy of different types of transcranial magnetic stimulation on post-stroke aphasia patients: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Lesion-Induced Changes to the Network Controllability of the Right Pars Triangularis in Aphasia.Neurobiology of language (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Action Naming in Aphasia Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Remapping and Reconnecting the Language Network after Stroke.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Disentangling neuroplasticity mechanisms in post-stroke language recovery.Brain and language · 2024Review
- A historical perspective on the neurobiology of speech and language: from the 19th century to the present.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Review
- Improved language function for post-stroke aphasia in the long term following repeated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and intensive speech-language-hearing therapy: a case report.Journal of medical case reports · 2023Article
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for the Modulation of Aggressive Behavior-A Systematic Review of Randomized Sham-Controlled Studies.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Effect of Low Frequency Cerebellar Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Balance Impairment in Patients With Cerebral Infarction.Annals of rehabilitation medicine · 2022Article
- Continuous theta burst stimulation-induced suppression of the right fronto-thalamic-cerebellar circuit accompanies improvement in language performance in poststroke aphasia: A resting-state fMRI study.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Article
- The influential factors and non-pharmacological interventions of cognitive impairment in children with ischemic stroke.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Review
- Neuromodulatory effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation on language performance in healthy participants: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSmall clinical trials have reported that low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) might improve language recovery in patients with aphasia after stroke. However, no systematic reviews or meta-analyses studies have investigated the effect of rTMS on aphasia. The objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of studies that explored the effects of low-frequency rTMS on aphasia in stroke patients.
methodsWe searched PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, and Journals@Ovid for randomized controlled trials published between January 1965 and October 2013 using the keywords "aphasia OR language disorders OR anomia OR linguistic disorders AND repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation OR rTMS". We used fixed- and random-effects models to estimate the standardized mean difference (SMD) and a 95% CI for the language outcomes.
resultsSeven eligible studies involving 160 stroke patients were identified in this meta-analysis. A significant effect size of 1.26 was found for the language outcome severity of impairment (95% CI = 0.80 to 1.71) without heterogeneity (I2 = 0%, P = 0.44). Further analyses demonstrated prominent effects for the naming subtest (SMD = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.18 to 0.87), repetition (SMD = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.16 to 0.92), writing (SMD = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.19 to 1.22), and comprehension (the Token test: SMD = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.07 to 1.09) without heterogeneity (I2 = 0%). The SMD of AAT and BDAE comprehension subtests was 0.32 (95% CI = -0.08 to 0.72) with moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 32%,P = 0.22). The effect size did not change significantly even when any one trial was eliminated. None of the patients from the 7 included articles reported adverse effects from rTMS.
conclusionsLow-frequency rTMS with a 90% resting motor threshold that targets the triangular part of the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) has a positive effect on language recovery in patients with aphasia following stroke. Further well-designed studies with larger populations are required to ascertain the long-term effects of rTMS in aphasia treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.