NCT01847586

Enhancing Neuroplasticity and Frontal Lobe Function in Patients With Mild Alzheimer's Disease

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 49 (actual)
• Sponsor: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if a novel brain stimulation approach using magnetic stimulation (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation \[TMS\]) can improve memory and thinking processes in individuals with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Detailed description

In this study, the investigators aim at assessing and then enhancing neuroplasticity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and working memory - a key function of DLPFC - in patients with mild AD. The investigators will use a novel non-invasive brain stimulation approach, Paired Associative Stimulation (PAS). PAS simulates in humans the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), a prototype of synaptic neuroplasticity. PAS involves the repetitive pairing of electrical stimulation of the median nerve with - 25 ms later - transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the contralateral DLPFC. As such, these two stimulations arrive simultaneously in the DLPFC and result in potentiation of TMS induced cortical evoked potential, analogous to in vitro LTP. Specific Aim 1: To compare LTP in the DLPFC among patients with mild AD and healthy subjects. Specific Aim 2: To assess the effect of a 2-week course of PAS (rPAS) as applied to the left DLPFC on LTP and performance on working memory in patients with mild AD in comparison with a 2-week course of PAS control condition (PAS-C, described below) (rPAS-C).

Conditions

• Alzheimer's Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	Paired Associative Stimulation	PAS simulates in humans the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), a prototype of synaptic neuroplasticity. PAS involves the repetitive pairing of electrical stimulation of the median nerve with - 25 ms later - transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the contralateral DLPFC. As such, these two stimulations arrive simultaneously in the DLPFC and result in potentiation of TMS induced cortical evoked potential, analogous to in vitro LTP.
PROCEDURE	Paired Associative Stimulation-Control	PAS-C is a control PAS paradigm in which TMS to the left DLPFC follows the electrical stimulation of the right median nerve by 100 ms, and, thus, does not result in contemporaneous occurrence of the two stimulations in the cortex and consequently no LTP.

Timeline

• Start date: 2013-04-01
• Primary completion: 2016-10-01
• Completion: 2017-10-01
• First posted: 2013-05-07
• Last updated: 2018-01-24

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada