Cognitive Ability Training in Seniors (CATS)

March 11, 2024 updated by: Wuerzburg University Hospital

Verbesserung Kognitiver Fähigkeiten im Alter

This study investigates the beneficial effects of prefrontal brain stimulation (with transcranial direct current stimulation [tDCS]) during working memory training in seniors with subjective memory impairments.The placebo-controlled double blinded study includes 50 elderly probands which were randomized into verum or sham tDCS.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

38

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
      • Wuerzburg, Germany, 97080
        • University Hospital

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

60 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • native german speaker
  • between 60-70 years old
  • subjective memory impairment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • psychiatric, neurological diseases
  • uncorrected hearing or vision deficits
  • actual psychopharmaco intake
  • metal parts in the head
  • medical electronical implants

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: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Verum tDCS
Left frontal anodal stimulation, supraorbital right cathodal stimulation
Device: Verum tDCS
Neuropsychological (Working memory) training for 30 minutes, 6 sessions tDCS during training with 2000 microampere left anodal, right cathodal
Experimental: Sham tDCS
sham stimulation, same electrode positions
Device: Sham tDCS
Neuropsychological (Working memory) training for 30 minutes, 6 sessions tDCS during training with 0 microampere

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neuropsychological Performance in Neuropsychological Test: Verbal Learning Memory Test (VLMT)
Time Frame: 4 weeks
The Investigators are measuring cognitive performance for different executive functions, here the score (percentile of the norm values) of the test verbal learning memory test (VLMT), parameter immediate recall post treatment is reported. Rage from 0 to 100 %. Higher values indicate higher performance.
4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Brain Activation Measured With Near-infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) During the Semantic Condition of the Verbal Fluency Task (VFT)
Time Frame: 4 weeks
NIRS is a brain imaging method, with the parameters of oxy (OxyHB) and deoxy (deoxyHB) hemoglobin. Activation is reflected by increase of OxyHB and decrease DeoxyHB. Differences from pre- to post-measurement for OxyHB are reported in a region of interest analysis of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Wuerzburg University Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Martin J. Herrmann, PD Dr, University of Würzburg

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)

May 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 16, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 26, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

October 27, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 12, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 11, 2024

Last Verified

March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Wuerzburg22/15

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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