Influence of Non-invasive Neurostimulation (Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation) on 1. the Noradrenergic Release in the Brain and 2. a Neuropsychological Memory Task

September 24, 2019 updated by: Neurologie, University Hospital, Ghent

The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation 1. on the noradrenergic system in the brain and 2. on memory, in healthy volunteers.

Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that noradrenaline plays a role in the working mechanism of vagus nerve stimulation. This study will investigate if the effects of invasive vagus nerve stimulation can be replicated with transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.

The release of noradrenaline in the brain will be measured non-invasively by the P300 component of event-related potentials in the electro-encephalogram (EEG) via an auditory oddball paradigm.

Research to elucidate the working mechanism of non-invasive neurostimulation can help to identify subpopulations who will respond well to a treatment and can provide insights that could contribute to the optimalisation of the stimulation parameters, with as possible consequence a better clinical outcome.

Some studies indicate that stimulation of the vagus nerve can optimally influence memory, possibly via the noradrenergic system. This study will investigate if the effects of invasive vagus nerve stimulation on memory can be replicated with transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.

The influence of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on memory will be measured via a neuropsychological memory task that investigates the ability to focus attention. The correlation between the performance on the memory task and the signal analysis of the auditory oddball task could give an indication about the underlying working mechanism of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on memory.

This will be the first step to investigate whether transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation can be used as innovative intervention for cognitive decline.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

First a sympathetic skin response (SSR) will be measured to investigate whether the SSR could be used as a method to measure the activity of the locus coeruleus non-invasively.

There are 3 conditions:

  1. transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation
  2. sham stimulation
  3. no stimulation

The conditions will be randomized.

In each condition the participant will do the oddball task and then the memory task. Between the conditions there is a wash-out period of 30 minutes. After completion of all 3 conditions and after a wash-out period of 30 minutes, the participant will do a final recognition task (part of the memory task in total).

During the oddball task EEG will be measured. An electro-cardiogram (ECG), electro-oculogram (EOG) and larynx electromyogram (EMG) will also be recorded for easy filtering of artefacts.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

44

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

  • Belgium
      • Ghent, Belgium, 9000
        • University Hospital Ghent

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

16 years to 28 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy volunteers between 18 and 30 years
  • Bachelor, Master or PhD students

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neurological or psychiatric disease

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: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (Nemos®, Cerbomed GmbH)
Stimulation of the ramus auricularis of the vagus nerve (ear)
Device: Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (Nemos®, Cerbomed GmbH)
Sham Comparator: Sham stimulation (Nemos®, Cerbomed GmbH)
Stimulation of the earlobe
Device: Sham stimulation (Nemos®, Cerbomed GmbH)
No Intervention: No stimulation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Analysis of amplitude of P300 component of ERPs
Time Frame: 15 minutes
15 minutes
Performance on memory task as measured by number of correctly remembered words
Time Frame: 15 minutes
15 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Analysis of latency of P300 component of ERPs
Time Frame: 15 minutes
15 minutes
Performance on memory task as measured by number of correctly recognized words
Time Frame: 15 minutes
15 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Hospital, Ghent

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)

November 3, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 14, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

March 14, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 16, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 31, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

April 6, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 25, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 24, 2019

Last Verified

September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EC/2014/0249

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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