The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Motor Performance in Healthy Adults

The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Intensity on Motor Performance in Healthy Adults

to investigate the effect of stimulation intensity on motor performance in healthy adults.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: HD-tDCS 2 mA; Device: HD-tDCS 1.5 mA; Device: HD-tDCS sham

Detailed Description

60 healthy subjects were randomly allocated to one of three groups: (a) 20-min of High-Definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) with an intensity of 2 mA (HD-tDCS 2 mA); (2) 20-min of HD-tDCS with an intensity of 1.5 mA (HD-tDCS 1.5 mA); and (3) 20-min of sham HD-tDCS (HD-tDCS sham). The stimulation was administered noninvasively using an M x N 9-channel high definition transcranial electrical current stimulator from Soterix Medical (New York, NY). The anodal stimulation targeted the right Brodmann area 4 (primary motor cortex) based on HD-Targets brain modelling software (Soterix Medical, New York, NY).

Tests: The non-dominant left arm was tested. The subjects performed a sequential point-to-point movement task on the graphics tablet. Initially, the participants were required to perform 3 sequences without errors to familiarize themselves with the setup, the task and the sequence. Then, they performed the pre-test which consisted of two blocks of 6 sequences, i.e. 12 sequences, with a 30 s break between blocks. Two min after starting the appropriate stimulation, they performed 2 blocks of 6 sequences (identical to the pre-test). After finishing the tDCS stimulation, the participants performed a post-test, which was also identical to the pre-test. The participants returned after 24 hours to perform a retention test, which was equivalent to the pre- and post-tests. Two outcome measures were used: movement time (s) and the reaction time (s) of the reaching movements.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Ariel, Israel
    • Ariel University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged between 20 and 35
• right-hand dominant
• healthy according to self report

Exclusion Criteria:

• taking psychiatric medications
• a history of drug abuse or dependence
• psychiatric or neurological disorder
• a history of seizures
• metal implants in their head
• musculoskeletal deficits interfering with task performance (proper reaching performance in sitting)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: HD-tDCS 2 mA; Single session of 20-min HD-tDCS to the right primary motor cortex with an intensity of 2 mA. The session lasted approximately one hour. The participants returned after 24 hours to perform a retention test.	Device: HD-tDCS 2 mA; anodal high definition transcranial direct current stimulation of the right primary motor cortex with an intensity of 2 mA
Experimental: HD-tDCS 1.5 mA; Single session of 20-min HD-tDCS to the right primary motor cortex with an intensity of 1.5 mA. The session lasted approximately one hour. The participants returned after 24 hours to perform a retention test.	Device: HD-tDCS 1.5 mA; anodal high definition transcranial direct current stimulation of the right primary motor cortex with an intensity of 1.5 mA
Sham Comparator: Control; Single session of 20-min of sham HD-tDCS. The session lasted approximately one hour. The participants returned after 24 hours to perform a retention test.	Device: HD-tDCS sham; sham stimulation of the right primary motor cortex

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in movement time (s) from baseline to intervention	Time from movement onset (first time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity) until the end of the movement (the last time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity). Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter movement time.	Baseline (immediately before stimulation), two minutes after starting the stimulation
Change in movement time (s) from baseline to posttest	Time from movement onset (first time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity) until the end of the movement (the last time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity). Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter movement time.	Baseline (immediately before stimulation), immediately post stimulation
Change in movement time (s) from baseline to retention test	Time from movement onset (first time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity) until the end of the movement (the last time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity). Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter movement time.	Baseline (immediately before stimulation), 24 hours following the stimulation
Change in movement time (s) from intervention to posttest	Time from movement onset (first time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity) until the end of the movement (the last time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity). Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter movement time.	Two minutes after starting the stimulation, immediately post stimulation
Change in movement time (s) from intervention to retention test	Time from movement onset (first time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity) until the end of the movement (the last time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity). Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter movement time.	Two minutes after starting the stimulation, 24 hours following the stimulation
Change in movement time (s) from posttest to retention test	Time from movement onset (first time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity) until the end of the movement (the last time the tangential velocity was greater than 5% of the peak tangential velocity). Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter movement time.	immediately post stimulation, 24 hours following the stimulation
Change in reaction time (s) from baseline to intervention	Time between when the target appeared in green (changed color from white to green), and movement onset. Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter reaction time.	Baseline (immediately before stimulation), two minutes after starting the stimulation
Change in reaction time (s) from baseline to posttest	Time between when the target appeared in green (changed color from white to green), and movement onset. Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter reaction time.	Baseline (immediately before stimulation), immediately post stimulation
Change in reaction time (s) from baseline to retention test	Time between when the target appeared in green (changed color from white to green), and movement onset. Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter reaction time.	Baseline (immediately before stimulation), 24 hours following the stimulation
Change in reaction time (s) from intervention to posttest	Time between when the target appeared in green (changed color from white to green), and movement onset. Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter reaction time.	Two minutes after starting the stimulation, immediately post stimulation
Change in reaction time (s) from intervention to retention test	Time between when the target appeared in green (changed color from white to green), and movement onset. Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter reaction time.	Two minutes after starting the stimulation, 24 hours following the stimulation
Change in reaction time (s) from posttest to retention test	Time between when the target appeared in green (changed color from white to green), and movement onset. Improved motor performance was indicated by a shorter reaction time.	immediately post stimulation, 24 hours following the stimulation

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ariel University
• Collaborators: Tel Aviv University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Silvi Frenkel-Toledo, Ariel University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Lerner O, Friedman J, Frenkel-Toledo S. The effect of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation intensity on motor performance in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2021 Jun 26;18(1):103. doi: 10.1186/s12984-021-00899-z.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 11, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 10, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): February 10, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 23, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 6, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): October 8, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 8, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 6, 2020
• Last Verified: September 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: transcranial direct current stimulation; motor performance
• Other Study ID Numbers: AU-HEA-SFT-20190326

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The datasets (Study Protocol, Statistical Analysis Plan, Informed Consent Form, Analytic Code generated during and/or analyzed during the current study) are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Drug and device information, study documents

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