Cognitive Training Combined With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Older Adults in a Home-based Context (TrainStim4)

May 8, 2024 updated by: University Medicine Greifswald

Feasibility of Cognitive Training in Combination With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in a Home-based Context

The aim of this study is to investigate whether a tDCS-accompanied intensive cognitive training is feasible as a home-based intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

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.

Detailed Description

The goal of the present study is to assess feasibility (primary) and cognitive training and transfer effects of a home-based multi-session cognitive training combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS, particularly in combination with cognitive training, represents a promising approach to counteract cognitive decline and restore impaired functions. However, combined interventions of cognitive training and tDCS involve frequent visits to the facility, which leads to the need of space, time and personnel, and imposes strains on the participants. This study will elucidate the feasibility of tDCS and cognitive training in a home-based context. Healthy older adults will participate in a two-week cognitive training with concurrent online tDCS application in their own homes. Feasibility, as well as cognitive performance will be examined before, during and after the intervention. In order to draw conclusions about the effect of tDCS in addition to cognitive training, a control group, receiving sham stimulation during training, will be assessed. A Follow-up session to assess long-term effects is planned four weeks after the post assessment. We hypothesize that with appropriate training of the participants and close supervision the use of combined tDCS and cognitive training in an ecologically valid environment by the participants themselves is feasible. In addition, we hypothesize this protocol will lead to improved performance on the trained tasks in both experimental groups. We expect increased performance on transfer tasks and long-term maintenance of the effects after anodal compared to sham stimulation. A successful implementation of the intervention in the home-based setting will contribute to the development of home-based tDCS as a widely available therapy option in clinical populations.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Germany
      • Greifswald, Germany
        • University Medicine Greifswald

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age: 60 - 80 years
  2. Right handedness

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Neurodegenerative neurological illnesses, epilepsy or history of seizures
  2. Severe and untreated medical conditions that preclude participation in the training, as determined by responsible physician
  3. History of severe alcoholism or use of drugs
  4. Severe psychiatric disorders such as depression (if not in remission) or psychosis
  5. Contraindication to tDCS application

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

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.
Experimental: stimulation group
Anodal tDCS+ intensive cognitive Training
Device: Anodal tDCS
Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 6 sessions with 20 minutes stimulation each (1,5 mA).
Behavioral: Intensive cognitive training
Intensive cognitive training of a letter memory updating task, 6 sessions for approximately 20 min
Sham Comparator: sham group
Sham tDCS + intensive cognitive Training
Behavioral: Intensive cognitive training
Intensive cognitive training of a letter memory updating task, 6 sessions for approximately 20 min
Device: Sham tDCS
Sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 6 sessions with 30 sec stimulation each (1,5 mA) to ensure blinding of participants.

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
Feasibility of conducting the intervention in a home-based context
Time Frame: 2 weeks
Feasibility of home-based tDCS as operationalized by at least 2/3 (out of 6 planned sessions) successfully performed interventional sessions per participant. A session is regarded as successful if it is marked as completed in the stimulation system.
2 weeks

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
Feasibility (questionnaire)
Time Frame: 2 weeks
Self-rate questionnaire of participant satisfaction, independence and self-confidence in the handling of the devices and program (cf. Cha at el., 2016) after training period (anodal condition versus sham)
2 weeks
Working memory performance at post-assessment
Time Frame: 2 weeks
Performance in a near transfer task (n-back) under anodal tDCS compared to sham condition; operationalized by % correct responses in the n-back task
2 weeks
Working memory performance at follow-up assessment
Time Frame: 4 weeks after intervention
Performance in a near transfer task (n-back) under anodal tDCS compared to sham condition; operationalized by % correct responses in the n-back task
4 weeks after intervention
Working memory training performance (Letter Updating Task) at post-assessment
Time Frame: 2 weeks
Performance in primary memory training task (Letter Updating Task) at post-assessment, operationalized by number of correctly recalled lists in the letter updating task
2 weeks
Working memory training performance (Letter Updating Task) at follow-up assessment
Time Frame: 4 weeks after intervention
Performance in primary memory training task (Letter Updating Task) at follow-up assessment, operationalized by number of correctly recalled lists in the letter updating task
4 weeks after intervention

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.
University Medicine Greifswald

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Agnes Flöel, Prof., University Medicine Greifswald

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
May 21, 2021

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.
October 2, 2023

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.
November 16, 2023

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).
March 24, 2021

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.
March 24, 2021

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.
March 26, 2021

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.
May 9, 2024

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.
May 8, 2024

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.
May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • TrainStim4

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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