NCT03672747

Modulation of Spontaneous Cortical Activity by tDCS: BRAIN Initiative I

The Impact of Spontaneous Cortical Activity on Neural Oscillations and Behavioral Performance: Evidence From High-definition tDCS and MEG

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 133 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Nebraska · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 19 Years – 72 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study will determine whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be used alter the amplitude of spontaneous neural activity, and thereby modulate cognitive function in healthy adults

Detailed description

An emerging neurological tool, called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), has recently been shown to safely and effectively enhance cognition in healthy individuals, as well as reduce key symptomatology in disorders such as stroke and depression, with only negligible side effects. tDCS delivers low-amplitude current to the scalp using small electrodes and part of this current passes through the skull and modulates neural activity in the underlying brain region. How this tiny amount of electric current acts to improve cognitive function and reduce symptoms (e.g., motor impairments in stroke patients with a lesion in motor brain areas) is currently unknown, although many investigators across the world are now working on this problem. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) offers a unique view of neural function, as it can delineate changes in active brain regions with excellent temporal resolution (\< 1 ms) and high spatial accuracy (2-3 mm). MEG non-invasively measures the magnetic fields that emanate from active neocortical cells. The potential of the MEG technique to precisely monitor the neural effects of tDCS shows extreme promise, but to date the method has been rarely utilized in this area. Under this protocol, Modulation of Spontaneous Cortical Activity by tDCS: BRAIN Initiative I, approximately 124 participants will provide written informed consent, undergo cognitive and behavioral testing and a structural MRI during a single visit, and then return several weeks later (2-4 weeks) to complete a short tDCS session followed by a MEG recording (i.e., after tDCS). Most participants will return for two more visits, each separated by 2-4 weeks, that include a tDCS session followed by a MEG recording (i.e., 4 total visits). The three tDCS-MEG visits will be identical except that the nature of the stimulation (e.g., location, amplitude, direction/polarity) will be different.

Conditions

• Brain Function

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS)	20 minutes duration using high-definition system with center-surround configuration

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-02-20
• Primary completion: 2022-10-14
• Completion: 2023-05-31
• First posted: 2018-09-14
• Last updated: 2024-07-31
• Results posted: 2024-07-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study