At UMD, Dr. Sharyl Samargia-Grivette is working on research to help those recovering from strokes to regain their ability to not only communicate, but to find that sense of belonging again.

She’s working on developing recovery methods for people who suffer from post-stroke aphasia, a condition that impairs speaking and comprehension skills.

Dr. Samargia-Grivette is turning her focus to the brain. With agreeing participants, she’s stimulating the brain with a low direct electric current while practicing what’s called practicing word and phrase retrieval. This in turn can help rebuild neural pathways.

In an article published on UMD’s website the university sates that, “In therapy sessions at UMD, participants practice speech during a matching card game while receiving Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS) to a part of the brain associated with language.”

You can learn more about Dr. Sharyl Samargia-Grivette’s work at UMD by checking out their website.