NCT04260815

The Effect of Non-invasive Brian Stimulation on Language Production in Healthy Older Adults

The Effect of Transcranial Direct-current Stimulation on Discourse Production in Healthy Older Adults

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 14 (actual)
• Sponsor: King's College London · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques like transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) for rehabilitation of language is a growing field that needs further studies to determine how best it can be used to enhance treatment outcomes. It has been shown that tDCS can improve language performance in healthy and brain-injured individuals such as increased naming accuracy. However, at present, it is not known what effect tDCS has on higher-level language skills like discourse production (i.e. story telling, giving instructions) in healthy, older speakers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate in healthy older adults, the effect of tDCS on discourse production as well as the ideal tDCS electrode placement for improving language at the discourse level. It is hypothesised that tDCS will result in greater language changes and improvements during discourse production compared to no stimulation.

Conditions

• Language Disorders
• Aphasia
• Stroke

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS)	Transcranial direct-current stimulation is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that can modify spontaneous cortical activity in targeted brain regions. Anodal tDCS delivered through a positively charged electrode has been found to increase cortical excitability in a targeted brain region. Application of tDCS has been found to improve language production in healthy and brain-injured speakers.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-10-02
• Primary completion: 2018-12-19
• Completion: 2019-08-22
• First posted: 2020-02-07
• Last updated: 2020-02-11

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United Kingdom