NCT07092839

Non-invasive Deep Brain Stimulation to Enhance Motor Skill Acquisition in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment

Investigation of the Plasticity of Deep Brain Structures in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Aging (PlasMA)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 15 (actual)
• Sponsor: Friedhelm Hummel · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of non-invasive deep brain stimulation on motor skill acquisition in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Participants performed a motor task with non-invasive deep brain stimulation applied to the striatum, which is crucial for motor skill acquisition. The study compared motor skill performance between with the active stimulation and the control stimulation.

Detailed description

This study implemented a randomized, double-blinded, and sham-controlled design, investigating the effects of non-invasive deep brain stimulation on motor skill acquisition in individuals Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Conditions

• Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	transcranial electric stimulation	tTIS is an innovative non-invasive brain stimulation approach, in which two or more independent stimulation channels deliver high-frequency currents in the kHz range (oscillating at f1 and f1 + Δf). These high-frequency currents are assumed to be too high to effectively modulate neuronal activity. Still, by applying a small shift in frequency, they result in a modulated electric field with the envelope oscillating at the low-frequency Δf (target frequency) where the two currents overlap. The peak of the modulated envelope amplitude can be steered towards specific areas located deep in the brain, by tuning the positions of the electrodes and the current ratio across stimulation channels. Here, we applied tTIS via surface electrodes applying a low-intensity (2mA baseline to peak), sub-threshold protocol following the safety guidelines for low-intensity transcranial electric stimulation in humans.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-06-01
• Primary completion: 2024-07-01
• Completion: 2024-07-01
• First posted: 2025-07-30
• Last updated: 2025-07-30

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Switzerland