Cortical Dynamics of Inhibitory Control: A Concurrent tDCS-MEG Study

Impulsive Behavior Clinical Trial

— CDIC-tDCS  

Official title:

Measuring Cortical Dynamics of Inhibitory Control Before, During and After Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03484377
• Other study ID #: CiC2017051
• Secondary ID: 199-1801
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 15, 2018
• Est. completion date: February 28, 2019

Study information

• Verified date: February 2020
• Source: Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study aims to use concurrent Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG) with measures of impulsivity to examine the neurobiological underpinnings of rapid response impulsivity (RRI) and how these can be modified using tDCS in healthy subjects.

Description:

Concurrent tDCS-MEG parallel arms single-blinded experimental design (right anodal v sham tDCS) will be employed in this study. The study will be conducted at the University of Nottingham, using a sample of student volunteers. This study aims to examine the influence of anodal tDCS on beta-band and alpha-band oscillatory activities, using an anti-saccade task administered before, during and after tDCS stimulation. It can potentially help understand the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning rapid response impulsivity and how these can be influenced by tDCS.

The research hypotheses are that (i) a generalised mechanism for top-down inhibitory control will play a vital role, whereby prefrontal beta-band activity initiates alpha-band activity for functional inhibition over the frontal eye fields and other areas in the neurocircuitry involved in RRI; (ii) anodal tDCS (as opposed to sham) delivered over the right DLPFC will enhance this mechanism; and (iii) there will be no significant correlations between measures of self-report impulsivity and performance on the anti-saccade task and measures of oscillatory activity.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 36
• Est. completion date: February 28, 2019
• Est. primary completion date: February 14, 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 40 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• University students and staff

• Aged 18-40

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with epilepsy and other neurological conditions, history of significant head injury, substance misuse, major mental disorder and those receiving psychotropic medication.

• Contraindications to use of Magnetic Resonance (pacemakers, metal implants, aneurysm clips)

• Pregnancy.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Impulsive Behavior

Intervention

Device:
• Anodal tDCS
The experimental condition will use a constant current of 2mA for 20 minutes, delivered via gradual increase and decrease over 10 seconds at the onset and offset of stimulation (current ramps), respectively.
• Sham tDCS
The anodal electrode will be placed over the supreorbital ridge. The current will be delivered only in the first 10 seconds, after which the stimulation will cease but with the electrodes still in place throughout the session. The session will last for 20 minutes.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United Kingdom	University of Nottingham	Nottingham	Notts

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Najat Khalifa	Medical Research Council, University of Nottingham

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United Kingdom, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Alpha and Beta band activity	Evaluation of mechanism of action of tDCS using MEG data	During 20 minutes of tDCS stimulation
Primary	Total number of correct anti-saccade (AS) trials	A measure of rapid response impulsivity (inhibitory control)	Change from baseline after 20 minutes of tDCS
Secondary	Total number of correct pro-saccade (PS) trials	A behavioral measure of rapid response impulsivity (inhibitory control)	Change from baseline after 20 minutes of tDCS
Secondary	Saccade latency for anti-saccade (AS) trials	A behavioral measure of rapid response impulsivity (inhibitory control)	Change from baseline after 20 minutes of tDCS
Secondary	Saccade latency for pro-saccade (PS) trials	A behavioral measure of rapid response impulsivity (inhibitory control)	Change from baseline after 20 minutes of tDCS
Secondary	Total Scores on the UPPS+P Impulsive Behaviour Scale	A self-report measure of impulsivity	Baseline
Secondary	Alpha and Beta band activity	A Cortical measure of inhibitory control recorded using Magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG is a brain imaging technique.	Change from baseline after 20 minutes of tDCS