Effects of High Amplitude and Focused tACS on Entraining Physiological Tremor

November 8, 2017 updated by: Ahmad Khatoun, KU Leuven
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation method that works by passing alternating electric current between electrodes where at least one of them is attached to the head. While tACS applied over the motor cortex at the general applied amplitude (1 mA) and using patch electrodes has been shown to entrain physiological tremor in healthy volunteers, the aim of this study is to test the feasibility of using high-amplitude tACS and to assess the effect of different electrode montages and stimulation sites in entraining physiological tremor. First, 10 subjects (arm 1) will be stimulated with 2 mA current amplitude applied between saline soaked patch square electrodes and comparison will be done between motor cortex stimulation and peripheral cortex stimulation. Then, 10 subjects (arm 2) will be stimulated using focused 4x1 montage with gel-filled cup-electrodes and 5 mA amplitude and comparison will be made between motor cortex and occipital cortex stimulation. Three outcome measurements will be measured during the experiments which are: tremor entrainment, phosphene intensity and phosphene threshold.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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Completed

Conditions

Conditions

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Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

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Study Type

Study Type

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Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

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23

Phase

Phase

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  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

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Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Above 18
  • signed informed written consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy
  • History of Epilepsy
  • Family history of Epilepsy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: Non-Focused stimulation
Stimulation frequency is set similar to that of the tremor and the amplitude is set up to 2 mA peak amplitude (reduced if not uncomfortable). One 5*5 cm2 square patch electrodes are placed over the Motor cortex and the Prefrontal cortex respectively and a common return electrode of 10*10 cm2 over the ankle. Each subject follows three sessions of 12 min length each. During each session the tremor is measured while interleaving between Motor cortex stimulation, Prefrontal cortex stimulation and No stimulation. By the end of each session we get 4 min of Motor Cortex stimulation, 4 min of Prefrontal Cortex stimulation and 4 min of No stimulation.
Device: tACS at tremor frequency
tACS applied between the stimulation electrodes at tremor frequency
Other: Focused stimulation
Stimulation frequency is set similar to that of the tremor and the amplitude is set up to 5 mA peak amplitude (with the help of local anesthetic cream and amplitude is reduced if not uncomfortable). A set of 4*1 gel-filled cup-electrodes is placed over each of motor cortex and the occipital cortex respectively. Each subject follows three sessions of 12 min length each. During each session the tremor is measured while interleaving between Motor cortex stimulation, Occipital cortex stimulation and No stimulation. By the end of each session we get 3 min of Motor Cortex stimulation, 3 min of occipital Cortex stimulation and 6 min of No stimulation.
Device: tACS at tremor frequency
tACS applied between the stimulation electrodes at tremor frequency

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tremor-stimulation phase entrainment
Time Frame: During the 36 minutes of all sessions (3 sessions each of is 12 minutes)
phase locking value was calculated between the tremor signal measured using accelerometer and the stimulation signal
During the 36 minutes of all sessions (3 sessions each of is 12 minutes)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Phosphene rating
Time Frame: Measured up to 5 minutes before the start of the stimulation sessions and lasts for 10 seconds of stimulation after which the subject gives the rating
The subject is asked to rate the phosphene intensity during the stimulation using a visual analog scale from 0 to 10. Zero means no phosphene is perceived and the number starts to increase as the phosphene perception intensity increases to reach 10 if the subject observe only a white view
Measured up to 5 minutes before the start of the stimulation sessions and lasts for 10 seconds of stimulation after which the subject gives the rating
Phosphene threshold
Time Frame: Measured 3 minutes before the start of the stimulation sessions and lasts up to 2 minutes. Stimulation at each amplitude lasts for 10 sec.
Stimulation amplitude at which the subject starts to perceive phosphene. Stimulation starts with 0 mA amplitude and then increased gradually until phosphene is perceived (or reaching maximum amplitude).
Measured 3 minutes before the start of the stimulation sessions and lasts up to 2 minutes. Stimulation at each amplitude lasts for 10 sec.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
KU Leuven

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 1, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 8, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 9, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 9, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 8, 2017

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • S57869

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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