NCT06771531

Brain Stimulation for Foot-sole Sensation in Older Adults With Foot-sole Somatosensory Deficits

Cortical Mechanisms and Modulation of Somatosensation in Older Adults With Foot Sole Somatosensory Impairments

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Hebrew SeniorLife · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

In older adults, diminished sensation of the legs and feet is highly prevalent and causes poor balance and reduced mobility. This type of sensation is not only dependent upon the receptors and nerves in the legs and feet, but also upon a complex central nervous system pathway that includes the cerebral cortex of the brain. This project will use a form of noninvasive brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to test whether increasing the excitability of the brain networks that process sensory feedback can augment foot sole sensation, balance, and mobility in older adults suffering from mild-to-moderate foot sole sensory impairments.

Conditions

• Somatosensory Function
• Balance Control
• Mobility

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	transcranial direct current stimulation	tDCS can safely and selectively modulate cortical excitability (specifically neuronal firing likelihood) by transferring weak electrical currents between scalp electrodes. The direct current delivered by any one electrode will not exceed 2.0 mA and the total amount of current from all electrodes will not exceed 4 mA in this study.
DEVICE	active sham stimulation	sham stimulation will implement the same protocol of the tDCS intervention; however, only very low-level currents (no more than 0.5 mA) are transferred between the same electrodes used for the tDCS throughout the 20-minute session. This strategy effectively mimics the cutaneous sensations and skin redness induced by creating only micro cortical electric fields.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-09
• Primary completion: 2026-07-01
• Completion: 2026-12-31
• First posted: 2025-01-13
• Last updated: 2026-03-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States