NCT06467695

Low Voltage Electrical Stimulation for Depression in Parkinson's Patients

The Effect of MRI-Guided Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cognitive and Affective Symptoms in Persons With Parkinson's Disease and Controls

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of South Alabama · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 19 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the relative efficacy of fMRI model guided Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (mgTDCS) in improving the depressive symptoms of patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD). The main questions it aims to answer are: 1) Can the use of mgTDCS significantly improve the self-reported level of depression and apathy in patients with PD from pre-intervention to post-intervention compared to a sham control? 2) Can the use of mgTDCS significantly normalize the cortical eeg alpha asymmetry so commonly seen in depressed patients compared to sham mgTDCS? 3) Can the use of mgTDCS significantly improve scores on neuropsychological tests of working memory?

Detailed description

This study seeks to expand the growing body of literature on the use of a particular type of low voltage electrical stimulation known as Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease (PD). One common disorder that can result from, and/or be exacerbated by PD is Major Depressive Disorder. In particular, apathy has been noted as a common and detrimental component for those with PD. While many studies have been performed on PD patients using TDCS, the consensus in the literature is that results are widely variable. Participants will: * complete self-report measures and neuropsychological tests * undergo eeg recording pre and post intervention * participate in 15, 46 minute sessions (2 13 minute stimulation sessions with 20 minutes of rest between) of mgTDCS over the course of 4-5 weeks Researchers will compare active mgTDCS to Sham mgTDCS to see if active mgTDCS is more effective. A non Parkinson's group of depressed controls who are age-matched to the PD patients will serve to determine if treatment effects are specific to PD or generalize to depression more generally.

Conditions

• Parkinson Disease
• Depressive Symptoms

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	BIOPAC Stimsola	Transcranial Electrical Stimulator
DEVICE	BIOPAC Stimsola Sham (zero amps)	Transcranial Electrical Stimulator set to 0 amps

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-08-01
• Primary completion: 2027-05-01
• Completion: 2027-06-30
• First posted: 2024-06-21
• Last updated: 2026-04-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States