Investigating Accelerated Learning and Memory in Healthy Subjects Using a Face Name Memory Task

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether we can accelerate learning and improve associative memory performance in healthy subjects by applying transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) during a Face Name memory task.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy Adults
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: sham tDCS; Device: tDCS

Detailed Description

Associative memory refers to remembering the association between two items, such as a face and a name or a word in English and the same word in another language. It is not only important for learning, but it is also one of the first aspects of memory performance that is impacted by aging and by Alzheimer׳s disease. For decades, neuroscientists have investigated associative learning and memory and ways to accelerate and enhance associative learning and memory.

Transcranial Direct Current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive and painless electrical stimulation technique that has demonstrated to accelerate learning and improve memory in some studies. To investigate whether we can accelerate learning and improve associative memory using tDCS, we will compare the performance in a Face Name Associate memory task from 2 groups. The first group will get active tDCS during the study phase of the Face Name Memory task, whereas the second group will get sham tDCS during the study phase of the task.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Richardson, Texas, United States, 75080
      • The University of Texas of Dallas

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: 18-35 years
• Native English Speaker

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of severe head injuries, epileptic insults, or heart disease.
• Severe psychiatric disorders and severe untreated medical problems.
• Contraindications for tDCS (pregnant women, implanted devices)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: active tDCS; active tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task	Device: tDCS; active tDCS
Sham Comparator: sham tDCS; sham tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task	Device: sham tDCS; sham tDCS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Associative Memory Assessed by a Face Name Associate Memory Experiment	All participants performed a face memory task .The face stimuli consisted of 120 grayscale pictures of human faces. Only faces with a neutral expression facing forward were selected. Half of the faces were male, and the other half were female. The face-name association memory task was divided into (1) an encoding phase, (2) a consolidation phase, and (3) a retrieval phase. During the encoding phase, participants studied 60 successively presented face-name pairs and were instructed to assess their gender to keep them focused to the task. The encoding phase was followed by a consolidation phase where participants were instructed to "sit still, relax, and think about nothing in particular" for 10 minutes, During the retrieval phase, participants were presented with 60 old and 60 new faces and were instructed to assess whether they have seen this face during the encoding phase. The outcome was the percent of Correct Name to Face Matches	Associate Memory is assessed after a 10 minutes break following the study phase

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Texas at Dallas
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sven Vanneste, PhD, The University of Texas at Dallas

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 27, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 25, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): January 25, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 7, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): October 13, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 3, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 27, 2022
• Last Verified: January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: memory; transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS); accelerated learning
• Other Study ID Numbers: 17-96

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes