The Effects of Transcranial Focused Ultrasound on Human Motor Learning

Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is a form of neuromodulation that uses a single element transducer to produce highly focused low-intensity acoustic energy that can be used to affect cortical excitability in humans.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Focused ultrasound

Detailed Description

Here the investigator plan to investigate the effect of tFUS on motor behavior. M1 has been chosen for two fundamental reasons for this study: 1) The use of muscle contraction to generate a detectable evoked potential signal allows for targeting of a precise area within M1 with tFUS, and 2) It is known that M1 is involved in fast learning of sequential motor tasks By targeting M1 with tFUS in neurologically healthy volunteers, we can study the effects of tFUS on motor learning measures (e.g., reaction time, accuracy) while a subject is performing a finger tapping motor learning task. If ultrasound is proven efficacious for stimulating the motor cortex, non-surgical ultrasound could potentially replace costly and risky surgery for the treatment of brain disorders as is common with deep brain stimulation for essential tremor or Parkinson's disease. There is currently no way to affect brain tissue deep into the cortex without surgery, genetic alteration or viral vectors (the latter two are not approved for human use). This technology is non-surgical and as invasive as any diagnostic ultrasound exam. With success, transcranial focused ultrasound could become useful world-wide as a cheap, portable and effective tool for human brain mapping efforts as well as for the diagnosis and potential treatment of a broad range of psychiatric and neurological disorders.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
      • University of Minnesota

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 to 65 years of age Provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Evidence of a current significant medical illness or psychiatric or central or peripheral neurologic disorder History of loss of consciousness of more than ten minutes in the past year or loss of consciousness in a lifetime that required rehabilitation services Personal or family history of seizure Any history of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) Taking any medications that may decrease the threshold for seizure Pregnancy Affirmative answers to one or more questions of the provided attached safety questionnaires. These are not absolute contraindications to this study but the risk/benefit ratio will be carefully balanced by the PI Left handedness. Failure to follow laboratory or study procedures

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Focused ultrasound; Repeated measures sham control	Device: Focused ultrasound; Focused ultrasound

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Reaction Time	Reaction time to visual stimulus response task	4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Minnesota

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): May 15, 2017
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): July 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Anticipated): July 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 16, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 24, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): April 26, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 11, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 8, 2017
• Last Verified: September 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: M1 ultrasound

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: No sharing plan

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No