Studying Use-Dependent Plasticity

June 30, 2017 updated by: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Bi-hemispheric Plasticity Elicited By Unilateral Finger Motor Training

Recent studies suggest that when patients learn a new motor movement, it may cause a change in the way the nerves act in the area of the brain that controls that movement. This change is called use-dependent plasticity.

The purpose of this study is to determine the direction and extent of the changes that take place in the brain areas that control movement in the untrained finger after the training of the opposite finger. The study outcomes may help researchers to develop rehabilitation strategies for people who have suffered brain injuries.

Eighteen healthy adults age 18 years or older will be enrolled in this study. Participants will undergo a clinical exam and then come back to the Clinical Center three times for sessions that will last approximately 2 hours each. For each session, participants' forearms will be immobilized and a small electronic device will be attached to each index finger so that researchers can measure their movements. Participants will be asked to move either index finger and to observe and concentrate on its movement. Investigators will perform transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) before and after these motor exercises. For TMS, a wire coil is held over the scalp and a brief electrical current passes through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that electrically stimulates the brain.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Motor training consisting of repetition of unilateral finger movements leads to use-dependent plasticity (UDP) in the contralateral primary motor cortex, M1, in normal volunteers. It is conceivable that motor training in one hand, in addition to changes in the contralateral M1, could elicit plastic changes in the ipsilateral M1. The purpose of this study is to test this hypothesis: Training consisting of repetition of a unilateral finger movement elicits plastic changes in the cortical representation of the homonymous untrained finger in the ipsilateral M1. The study will be performed on normal volunteers and will consist of three to five separate training sessions. The endpoint measure will be, for each session, the change in the direction of the movements evoked by TMS in the untrained index finger as a function of the opposite index finger.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment

28

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Only healthy volunteers 18 years or older will be included in this protocol. Handedness will be assessed by the Edinburgh Inventory Scale. All experimental sessions will be studied on outpatient basis. Normal Volunteers with right-handedness will be eligible to participate.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Subjects with the history of epilepsy, surgery with metallic implants or known history of metallic particles in the eye, cardiac pacemaker, neural stimulators, cochlear implants, history of drug abuse, psychiatric illness (depression), hypertension or use of medications that influence synaptic plasticity, will be excluded as evaluated by the investigator.

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?

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

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

August 5, 2003

Study Completion

June 25, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 12, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 12, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

August 13, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 2, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2017

Last Verified

June 25, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 030273
  • 03-N-0273

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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