Neurology Grand Rounds

Roy Hamilton, MD, MS, FAAN, FANA, is a professor in the departments of Neurology with secondary appointments in Psychiatry, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania. A leading expert in noninvasive neuromodulation, he uses brain stimulation, neuroimaging, and behavioral methods to study functional plasticity in healthy and injured brains. His research principally focuses on improving aphasia and other cognitive deficits associated with neurological disorders.

In this talk, Dr. Hamilton explores how contemporary models of language recovery after left hemisphere stroke inform novel rehabilitation strategies. The talk reviews theoretical mechanisms underlying aphasia recovery and highlights experimental applications of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to enhance post-stroke language outcomes. It also introduces emerging evidence supporting transcranial direct current stimulation as a symptomatic treatment approach for primary progressive aphasia, emphasizing both opportunities and ongoing challenges in translating neuromodulation research into clinical practice.