View clinical trials related to Memory Disorders.
Filter by:A debilitating and common symptom in Gulf War Illnesses (GWI) is the inability to retrieve words. This affects one's conversations, ability to fluidly exchange information verbally and retrieve information from memory. The investigators have discovered 3 brain regions - the PreSupplementary Motor Area (preSMA), caudate nucleus, and the thalamus - that are essential for word retrieval. They have also detected abnormal EEG signals related to these regions in GWI patients who have problems retrieving words. The investigators have used their model of verbal retrieval to design a noninvasive, nonpharmacological treatment that uses High Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD tDCS). Using HD tDCS, they deliver small amounts of electric current to areas of the head to stimulate specific brain regions. The objective is to determine if delivery of HD tDCS over the preSMA will improve performance in GWI veterans with a verbal retrieval deficit. The investigators will administer pre-treatment tests of verbal retrieval measures while recording brain electrical activity. They will then administer 10 sessions of HD tDCS over the preSMA (20 minutes a session) in half the veterans. The other half will go through the same procedures, except the current will not be turned on (called the sham condition). The investigators will then compare performance between the "active" and sham group and assess if the treatment had a significant effect on performing verbal retrieval tasks and if there is a change in the ERP markers to account for how the treatment worked. If the treatment is found to be effective it will be offered to those in the sham group at the study's end. The investigators predict this treatment regimen will lead to positive effects on a person's daily functions, especially improved conversational abilities, with few, if any, side effects. They hope to outline the standard procedures for physicians to perform the treatment by creating a manual on how to apply the treatment in a clinical setting so that it will be quickly available to use in multiple sites if the proposed study demonstrates that it is efficacious. This treatment can be made widely available for Warrior Transition Units, military clinics, and VA medical centers. In addition, if successful, this could potentially lead to development of other targets of stimulation to improve other cognitive deficits in GWI, and help alleviate verbal fluency deficits associated with other disorders.
The ability to find one's way in the world is known as wayfinding. Many older adults who live in senior communities, such as independent living and assisted living residences, find wayfinding very challenging. Often times, these communities are not designed in a way that helps people find their way very easily. When people cannot find their way, they can get lost, be dependent upon others for getting out and about, or even be afraid to leave their rooms. The purpose of this study is to find out if distinctive signs and decorative elements, along with a special type of education called Spaced-Retrieval education, help residents in these communities find their way more effectively. Twelve senior communities will be assigned by chance to one of three conditions, including: 1) control - no change (the community stays the same); 2) signs and decorative elements enhanced; and 3) signs, decorative elements, and special education added. After agreeing to be in the study, the participants will be asked to find their way to certain places in their community four times over a year. Some people will be asked to participate in educational sessions on wayfinding. In addition, some people will be asked to wear a location tracker, (like a fitness tracker), for four weeks during the year. How well people find their way, along with how much they travel about within the communities, will be compared between the three groups. It is hypothesized that those in the communities with special signs and decorative elements will find their way more effectively than those in the control communities. It is also hypothesized that participants in the communities with the special education intervention will find their way better than those without the education. Finally, it is hypothesized that participants in the communities with signs and cues and education will travel about further distances than those in the control communities. The results of the study can help people who have a tendency to get lost find their way more effectively in their community, and this could result in more independence.
The aim of the study is to determine if there are attention disorders related to acute morphine use in single-traumatized patients and after that the investigators will determine whether there are immediate memory problems associated with acute morphine withdrawal in single-traumatized patients. From a biochemical point of view, the analgesic effects of morphine and the central side effects appear to be two different dimensions of the action of morphine, each related to a metabolite. Regarding acute attention, it is difficult to differentiate attention deficit disorder due to pain or due to morphine. Two tests have been validated in the literature to evaluate attention and memory: the 15 words of Rey and the Stroop Color Word test. The investigators will use these two tests in this study.
The study has both quantitative and qualitative components. The objective of the quantitative study is: 1. To culturally adapt and refine Montessori activities for people living with dementia in Pakistan. 2. To determine the feasibility and acceptability of culturally-adapted group based Montessori intervention for people with dementia in Pakistan. 3. To build capacity and capability in dementia research (researcher training) The objective of the qualitative study is: To explore views on perceived effectiveness and sustainability of the study.
Executive functioning (EF) deficits are a core, transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology and one of the strongest predictors of clinical and functional outcomes, yet there remains a dearth of treatments available for EF deficits. EF is a collection of cognitive control processes that includes working memory (i.e., maintain/manipulate data not perceptually present), inhibition (i.e., inhibit/control of attention, thoughts, behaviors) and flexibility (i.e., shift flexibly between tasks/sets). These EF subdomains are subserved by a network (i.e., cognitive control network) of frontal (e.g., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC]), parietal and subcortical regions, with hypoactivation in such regions often underlying EF deficits. There is a recent call in psychiatry to develop experimental therapeutics that target anomalous neural systems underlying symptomology. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a therapeutic, non-invasive method of cortical excitability modulation. High frequency rTMS to the left DPLFC has an activating effect on the cognitive control network, with initial research in adults finding a subsequent enhancing effect on working memory, inhibition, and flexibility. rTMS represents a very promising potential tool to target EF deficits in psychopathology.
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) on a cognitive training in healthy elderly and memory impaired participants. In order to assess these effects different memory and attention tasks will be performed before and after the training as well as after 6 and 12 months.
The results of this study will contribute to a better understanding of prospective memory deficit processes in breast cancer in relation to sleep disorders frequently reported in this pathology. In the long term, a better understanding will make it possible to envisage appropriate treatments to compensate for these memory difficulties and to improve the autonomy of the patients.
Dementia is a progressive decline in cognition that impairs a person's ability to perform activities of daily living. Changes in mood, gait, and balance are prominent secondary symptoms of Alzheimer's dementia that can dramatically decrease quality of life for the person with dementia and increase caregiver burden. The overall aim of this study is to determine the independent and combined effects of dance movement and social engagement on quality of life in people with early-stage dementia, and test the neural mechanisms of these effects.
The goal of this study is to test the efficacy of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as a treatment for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: Group 1: Active Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) rTMS; Group 2: Active Lateral Parietal Cortex (LPC) rTMS; and Group 3: Inactive rTMS (Placebo) control (evenly split between each coil location). Participation in the study takes approximately 7 ½ months-including a 2-to 4-week treatment phase (20 rTMS sessions) and a 6-month follow-up phase.
The purpose of this study is the examine the feasibility of and estimate the efficacy of a preoperative exercise (i.e. prehabilitation) program in 40 up to sedentary older adults (i.e. age 60 and over) undergoing abdominal, urologic or gynecologic surgery under the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol at Duke, using a variety of techniques to measure the possible effect of this intervention. Study patients will undergo a program of prehabilitation exercise for 6 days per week prescribed for them by an exercise physiologist, for up to 4 weeks prior to surgery. Study participants will undergo four types of assessments: Functional/Cognitive testing; Blood/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples and Muscle biopsies; Brain Imaging; and Brain Activity Recording. Clinical Outcomes will also be obtained from the Duke electronic medical record system. The risks of the exercise intervention are generally mild, since moderate exercise in this patient population generally results in improved health outcomes. Data from these patients will be analyzed in comparison to propensity matched patients from the Duke Markers of Alzheimer's Disease and neurocognitive Outcomes after Perioperative Care (MADCO-PC) study who did not undergo this prehabilitation exercise intervention. Taken together, the results of this study will allow the investigators to estimate the possible effect of prehabilitation exercise on multiple domains of postoperative recovery (cognition, brain connectivity, biomarkers, brain activity, etc) and will provide important preliminary data.