Investigating Memory in Healthy Subjects Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

January 27, 2022 updated by: Sven Vanneste, The University of Texas at Dallas
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether we can improve associative memory performance in healthy subjects, by applying transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) during a verbal paired-associate learning task

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

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 it is possible to improve associative memory using tDCS, the performance in a Verbal Paired-Associate memory task of 4 groups targeting different areas will be compared.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

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

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

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

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.
  • acquainted with the foreign language used in the learning task
  • Contraindications for tDCS (pregnant women, implanted devices)

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: memory task with tDCS location 1
memory task paired with tDCS targeting C2 nerve (anode left c2; cathode right C2)
Device: tDCS
tDCS
Experimental: memory task with tDCS location 2
memory task paired with tDCS targeting C2 nerve (anode right c2; cathode left C2)
Device: tDCS
tDCS
Experimental: memory task with tDCS location 3
memory task paired with tDCS targeting C5/6 nerve
Device: tDCS
tDCS
Experimental: memory task with tDCS location 4
memory task paired with tDCS targeting trigeminal nerve dermatomes (left and right temple/jaw)
Device: tDCS
tDCS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Associative Memory Assessed by a Verbal Paired-Associate Test
Time Frame: Baseline and 1 week after the tDCS
Participants got the opportunity to learn the list of 75-word pairs across a total of eight alternating study (S) and test (T) periods. Participants came back for a final test session (all 75 words tested) 7 days later and were asked to give the English translations of Swahili words. A score was calaculated based on the percentage of words (English trnaslations) correctly recalled words.
Baseline and 1 week after the tDCS

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The University of Texas at Dallas

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)

June 7, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 25, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

January 25, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 10, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 10, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

June 20, 2018

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

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 17-34 CM

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

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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