Effects of PFC tDCS on Cognitive Control, Attention Lapses and Coordinated Neural Activity in the Theta and Alpha Bands

Healthy Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effects of PFC tDCS on Cognitive Control, Attention Lapses and Coordinated Neural Activity in the Theta and Alpha Bands

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04885322
• Other study ID #: 1344169-8
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 14, 2021
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2024

Study information

• Verified date: August 2023
• Source: University of California, Davis
• Contact: Minhtrang Chu
• Phone: 1-916-734-1482
• Email: mihchu[@]ucdavis.edu
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to better understand the neural correlates of higher-order cognition, both in the healthy brain and in schizophrenia, and to determine how these mechanisms are modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) at frontal and occipital scalp sites. Testing the effects of tDCS at these scalp sites on cognitive task performance will help us understand the roles of the brain regions corresponding to these sites during higher-order cognitive processing (language comprehension, cognitive control, and related attention and memory processes). Behavioral and electrophysiological (EEG) measures will be used to assess cognitive performance. Our overarching hypothesis is that stimulating prefrontal circuits with tDCS can improve cognitive control performance, and ultimately performance on a range of cognitive tasks, as compared to stimulating a different cortical region (occipital cortex) or using sham stimulation.

This study is solely intended as basic research in order to understand brain function in healthy individuals and individuals with schizophrenia. This study is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat schizophrenia or any other disease.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 75
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2024
• Est. primary completion date: June 30, 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 50 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• between ages of 18 and 50

• ability to sufficiently speak and understand English so as to be able to understand and complete cognitive tasks

• ability to give valid informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• no history of head trauma

• no current or previous history of treatment with psychotropic medication

• corrected vision 20/30 or better

• tDCS/MRI contraindications, including: pregnancy, ferrous metal in any part of the body, serious medical conditions, claustrophobia, metallic implants, skin damage, conditions such as eczema at electrode sites, cranial pathologies

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Healthy

Intervention

Device:
• Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
In tDCS, saline-soaked electrodes are temporary affixed to the scalp and connected to a battery-powered current generator. A weak (2 mA) constant current is then briefly applied (~20 minutes) to stimulate the targeted brain area. The targeted brain area is determined by the Study Arm.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Imaging Research Center	Sacramento	California

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of California, Davis

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Stroop Task	Incongruent versus Congruent difference in error rate and reaction time	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	EEG Cognitive Control Measures on the Stroop Task	response-locked power in the theta frequency band (4-7 Hz)	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	Behavioral Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task	Error Rate on Incorrect Congruent trials (Full Lapses) and Slow-but-Correct Congruent trials (Partial Lapses)	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task	Pre-trial power in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz)	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task	WM storage capacity (k-max)	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	EEG Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task	delay period power in the theta frequency band (4-7 Hz)	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	Behavioral Attention Lapse Measures on the Change Detection Task	Attention factor (a); Guess factor (g)	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Change Detection Task	Pre-trial power in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz)	Through study completion, an average of 1 month
Primary	Delivered tDCS Dose to PFC	Estimated electric field in PFC region of interest	Through study completion, an average of 1 month