Influence of Transcranial Direct Stimulation Current on Motor Learning of Young Adults

Healthy Clinical Trial

Official title:

Influence of Transcranial Direct Stimulation Current on Motor Learning of Young Adults

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03157869
• Other study ID #: tDCS1
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 3, 2017
• Est. completion date: November 5, 2018

Study information

• Verified date: October 2018
• Source: University of Sao Paulo General Hospital
• Contact: Maria Elisa P Piemonte, PhD
• Phone: 5511982082930
• Email: elisapp[@]usp.br
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Motor learning occurs with structural and functional modifications in neural networks that meet a certain demand. The improvement of performance in diverse activities is a measure of learning, as well as the generalization and transference of this capacity. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a modulation technique of brain activity that modifies cortical excitability, causing changes in motor evoked potentials that influence motor learning. Modifications similar to the long-term potentiation, essential for learning processes, have also been described after applying tDCS. The primary motor cortex is the area of stimulation where there is more robust evidence in favor of increased motor learning. PURPOSE: to investigate the effects of anodic tDCS on the learning of sequential finger movements in young and healthy individuals.

Description:

Thirty-six young healthy individuals, right-handed, with no deficits that difficult the performance of the procedures will participate in the study. These individuals will be randomly divided into an experimental group that will perform the motor training of a sequential task of fingers simultaneously to the anodic tDCS on the contralateral motor cortex the trained hand and a control group that will perform the same training simultaneously the stimulation placebo (simulated in the same region of the experimental group). The training will consist of 8 blocks with 300 repetitions of sequential finger movements performed with only the right upper limb. The speed and accuracy of sequential movements will be used as a measure of performance. These measures will be performed prior to training, immediately after, 48 hours, 7 days, and 28 days after trained hand training (TH) for assessment of short and long term learning. In addition, performance evaluations (1) of the reverse-trained sequence in TH will be performed to evaluate the generalization; (2) of the trained sequence in left hand (non-trained) to evaluate the intermanual transfer; and (3) trained sequence in TH in double-task condition to evaluate automaticity. Appropriate statistical methods will be used to identify inter- and intra-group differences.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 36
• Est. completion date: November 5, 2018
• Est. primary completion date: April 5, 2018
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 35 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Young subjects aged between 18 and 35 years, right-hand (evaluated by the Edinburgh Inventory), of both genders, attending the third grade in a private university.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals using central nervous system drugs with uncorrected visual and / or auditory disorders who have any neurological, psychiatric, or orthopedic diseases and who have differentiated finger, musician or typist skills will be excluded.

Due to the electrostimulation procedure, individuals who use hair chemistry, individuals who have a metallic implant on the head or a pacemaker, and who have scars in the region to be stimulated will also be excluded.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Healthy

Intervention

Device:
• Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Anodic tDCS during 20 minutes ON, intensity 2milliamps, on the contralateral motor cortex of the trained hand simultaneously with the motor training. The cathode (negative electrode) will be positioned over the contralateral supraorbital region. It wil be used rubber electrodes covered by a vegetal electrode embedded in saline solution, physiological saline, measuring 5 x 5 cm (25 cm2).

Other:
• Simulated
Simulated anodic tDCS (only 30 seconds ON), intensity 2milliamps, on the contralateral motor cortex of the trained hand simultaneously with the motor training. The cathode (negative electrode) will be positioned over the contralateral supraorbital region. It wil be used rubber electrodes covered by a vegetal electrode embedded in saline solution, physiological saline, measuring 5 x 5 cm (25 cm2).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Brazil	Center of Research of Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy of São Paulo University	São Paulo	SP

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Brazil, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Speed	The speed (number of repetitions in a minute) of sequential movements will be used as a measure of performance. These measures will be performed prior to training, immediately after, 48 hours, 7 days, and 28 days after trained hand training (TH) for assessment of short and long term learning. In addition, performance evaluations (1) of the reverse-trained sequence in TH will be performed to evaluate the generalization; (2) of the trained sequence in left hand (non-trained) to evaluate the intermanual transfer; and (3) trained sequence in TH in double-task condition to evaluate automaticity.	Up to 28 days
Primary	Accuracy	The accuracy (number of errors in a minute) in the same way as described to Outcome 1	Up to 28 days