Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR)

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Project Summary/Abstract The Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR, P50-DC014664) explores recovery from language impairments following stroke. We have expertise using brain imaging and behavioral measures to identify risk factors for recovery. Stroke is influenced by the climate, with increased incidence both in the summer months as well as in warmer regions such as the `Stroke Belt` of the United States. For the first time ever, this proposal will allow us to examine the relationship between climate and 1) patterns of brain injury (location and extent) in stroke, and 2) patterns of behavioral impairment following stroke, in both chronic and acute data. We will examine these questions using archival data from existing acute (N =1500) and chronic datasets (N = 260) that include demographic, behavioral and brain imaging data points. These data were collected in South Carolina, which is considered the ‘Buckle’ of the ‘Stroke Belt’, and which may serve as a bellwether for future global warming. Our planned analyses will provide novel insights into the overall health burden of summer strokes, which requires us to determine whether additional strokes observed in the summer months lead to long-term impairment or are associated with smaller injuries where symptoms resolve spontaneously. We will pursue two archival analyses to resolve these questions.