Neuromodulation and Language Acquisition (Project Stage Ia)

January 26, 2010 updated by: University Hospital Muenster

Improved Language Acquisition Through Neuromodulation, Project Stage Ia

The purpose of this study is to determine whether levodopa, pergolid, rivastigmine, or modafinil are effective in boosting semantic language acquisition in healthy subjects.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Our prior work shows that d-amphetamine and the dopamine precursor levodopa markedly improve word learning success in healthy subjects. In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, we probe whether a mixed d1/d2 dopamine agonist (pergolid) or cholinergic neuromodulation (rivastigmine) or a general centrally arousing substance (modafinil) will yield a learning enhancement comparable to using levodopa in healthy subjects.

Our results show that the dopamine agonist pergolide impaired learning in healthy subjects compared to placebo, whereas cholinergic neuromodulation had no effect.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

100

Phase

  • Phase 4

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

  • Germany
    • Nordrhein-Westfalen
      • Muenster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, 48129
        • Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital Muenster

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

20 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy subjects
  • 20-35 years old
  • Right handedness
  • Left language dominance (as assessed by functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonography [fTCD])

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neurological/psychiatric/metabolic/cardiac disorders
  • Asthma
  • Known allergic reactions to one of the experimental drugs
  • Other drugs affecting the central nervous system
  • Leisure drug ingestion during the past 4 weeks (urine test)
  • Smoking cessation during the past 2 weeks
  • > 6 cups of coffee or energy drinks per day
  • > 10 cigarettes per day
  • > 50 grams of alcohol per day

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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Boost in language learning success through neuromodulation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Stability of language learning success

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Hospital Muenster

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

March 1, 2004

Study Completion

April 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 26, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 26, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

January 27, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 27, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 26, 2010

Last Verified

September 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KS-NEUROMOD_01, Stage Ia
  • IZKF Muenster: Kne3/074/04

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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