Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Language Functions in Mild Cognitive Impairment (STIMCI)

August 20, 2013 updated by: Marcus Meinzer, Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Language Functions in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Proof-of-principle Study and Neural Correlates

The purpose of this study is to determine if non-invasive electrical brain stimulation can improve word-retrieval in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Previous studies showed that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) can have beneficial effects on word-retrieval in healthy younger and older subjects. The present study aims to extend these findings by assessing whether atDCS can also improve known impairments of word-retrieval in Mild Cognitive Impairment. atDCS will be applied to the left inferior frontal gyrus in a sham controlled cross-over within subjects design. Simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will assess underlying neural effects of the stimulation.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

18

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • Germany
      • Berlin, Germany, 10117
        • Charite University Medicine, Department of Neurology

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

45 years to 86 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • right handed
  • German native speakers
  • clinical diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • dementia
  • other current or previous neurological or current psychiatric diseases
  • alcohol or drug abuse
  • MRI contraindication (e.g., magnetic metal, pacemaker, claustrophobia

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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: anodal tDCS
anodal tDCS will be administered for 20 minutes with 1 milliampere (1 mA) to the left inferior frontal gyrus
Device: tDCS
anodal tDCS will be delivered with a constant current of 1 mA during resting-state and task-related fMRI and will continue until the end of the word-generation task. For both stimulation conditions (atDCS, sham) the current will be initially increased in a ramp-like fashion over 10 s, eliciting a tingling sensation on the scalp that fades over seconds. During sham stimulation the current will be turned off after 30 s.
Other Names:
  • DC-Stimulator Plus, neuroConn GmbH
Sham Comparator: sham tDCS
sham tDCS will be administered to the left inferior frontal gyrus
Device: tDCS
anodal tDCS will be delivered with a constant current of 1 mA during resting-state and task-related fMRI and will continue until the end of the word-generation task. For both stimulation conditions (atDCS, sham) the current will be initially increased in a ramp-like fashion over 10 s, eliciting a tingling sensation on the scalp that fades over seconds. During sham stimulation the current will be turned off after 30 s.
Other Names:
  • DC-Stimulator Plus, neuroConn GmbH

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of correct responses during word-generation tasks (max. 60)
Time Frame: Change in number of correct responses between Assessment 1 (week 1) and Assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week
Subjects are assessed in a cross-over design. The primary outcome measure will be assessed twice in each subject, either during sham stimulation or active stimulation with transcranial direct current stimulation. Order of stimulation (sham, atDCS or atDCS, sham) will be counterbalanced across the group. The study design has been described in detail before (Meinzer et al., 2012, Journal of Neuroscience, 32:1859 -1866).
Change in number of correct responses between Assessment 1 (week 1) and Assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Neural activity during word-generation task assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Time Frame: Change in fMRI activity between Assessment 1 (week 1) and Assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week
Change in fMRI activity between Assessment 1 (week 1) and Assessment 2 (week 2), assessments 1 and 2 are seperated by one week

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Collaborators

German Research Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Agnes Flöel, MD, Charite University Medicine, Department of Neurology

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

December 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 14, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 16, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

January 18, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 22, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 20, 2013

Last Verified

August 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • FL379101

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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