Project Grant R01DC023940

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders awarded Northwestern University $690,331 on August 25, 2026, under the Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders program (CFDA 93.173) to develop personalized brain-computer interfaces for decoding language in people with nonfluent aphasia.

The research addresses a critical gap in BCI technology. Nearly all existing speech BCIs decode signals from the frontal lobe, which is typically damaged in nonfluent aphasia patients, leaving a large population without viable restoration options. The project will identify which remaining cortices remain active in common Broca's aphasia phenotypes and assess what linguistic information—phonemes and lexico-semantics—can be decoded from temporal and parietal cortices. The work will also develop methods to improve targeting of implant locations for precision BCI design tailored to individual patient deficits and lesions. Aims include mapping spatiotemporal language encoding across common aphasia phenotypes and investigating decoding accuracy from different brain regions.

Northwestern University's Sponsored Research Division is the recipient. The award funds direct costs including salaries, equipment, supplies, and travel, along with indirect costs to the institution. Work is performed in Chicago, Illinois, with a period of performance extending from the award date through July 31, 2031.