Transdiagnostic Cognitive Biomarkers

The overall objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of identifying transdiagnostic biomarkers of cognitive function mediated by neuromodulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that are translatable across disease groups in order to more accurately phenotype clusters of cognitive dysfunction. Completing behavioral paradigms with electrophysiology and TMS is a challenging frontier. This study focuses on the feasibility of such an endeavor for those with chronic pain or depression as well as healthy controls.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Depression; Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Computer game/task; Behavioral: Health surveys online

Detailed Description

This study aims to test the feasibility of procedures aimed at discovering transdiagnostic biomarkers for cognitive impairment in chronic pain and depression. Fifteen healthy control participants and 15 participants from each disease group (chronic pain, depression) will be recruited.

Using a task-based fmri, TMS will be targeted for priming of the Left DLPFC. EEG will be used during our behavioral paradigm to compare changes in DLPFC function before and after primed TMS.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: David Darrow; Phone Number: (612) 624-6666; Email: hdlab@umn.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: MATTHEW D Maple; Phone Number: 612-946-1424; Email: maple036@umn.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
      • Recruiting
      • University of Minnesota
      • Contact: David Darrow; Phone Number: 612-946-1424; Email: hdlab@umn.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Arm 1, healthy controls:

Inclusion Criteria:

• Have access to the online study platform.

Exclusion Criteria:

• under 18, non-English speaking

Arm 2: pain and depression:

Inclusion Criteria:

• Pain or depression

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnant women

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Healthy Comparison Group; Behavioral tasks and surveys online.	Behavioral: Computer game/task; N-back, COGED, PacMan game, Bandit task, Websurf task.; Other Names: Behavioral tasks online and in-person.; Behavioral: Health surveys online; Health surveys to study themes like pain, sleep, depression and anxiety, and PTSD.; Other Names: PHQ-9, MASQ, GAD-7
Experimental: Pain/Depression patients from clinic; MRI, TMS and EEG, and behavioral tasks and surveys online.	Behavioral: Computer game/task; N-back, COGED, PacMan game, Bandit task, Websurf task.; Other Names: Behavioral tasks online and in-person.; Behavioral: Health surveys online; Health surveys to study themes like pain, sleep, depression and anxiety, and PTSD.; Other Names: PHQ-9, MASQ, GAD-7

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility for all aspects of the study	Feasibility; the overall objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of identifying transdiagnostic biomarkers of cognitive function mediated by neuromodulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that are translatable across disease groups in order to more accurately phenotype clusters of cognitive dysfunction. Completing behavioral paradigms with electrophysiology and TMS is a challenging frontier. This study focuses on the feasibility of such an endeavor for those with chronic pain or depression as well as healthy controls.	1-7 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability	Sum total of acceptability rating scale of study procedures.	1-7 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Minnesota

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Huang YZ, Edwards MJ, Rounis E, Bhatia KP, Rothwell JC. Theta burst stimulation of the human motor cortex. Neuron. 2005 Jan 20;45(2):201-6. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2004.12.033.
• Boggio PS, Ferrucci R, Rigonatti SP, Covre P, Nitsche M, Pascual-Leone A, Fregni F. Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on working memory in patients with Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Sci. 2006 Nov 1;249(1):31-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2006.05.062. Epub 2006 Jul 14.
• Sheng J, Liu S, Wang Y, Cui R, Zhang X. The Link between Depression and Chronic Pain: Neural Mechanisms in the Brain. Neural Plast. 2017;2017:9724371. doi: 10.1155/2017/9724371. Epub 2017 Jun 19.
• Short BE, Borckardt JJ, Anderson BS, Frohman H, Beam W, Reeves ST, George MS. Ten sessions of adjunctive left prefrontal rTMS significantly reduces fibromyalgia pain: a randomized, controlled pilot study. Pain. 2011 Nov;152(11):2477-2484. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2011.05.033. Epub 2011 Jul 20.
• Chung SW, Rogasch NC, Hoy KE, Fitzgerald PB. The effect of single and repeated prefrontal intermittent theta burst stimulation on cortical reactivity and working memory. Brain Stimul. 2018 May-Jun;11(3):566-574. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Jan 8.
• Vekony T, Nemeth VL, Holczer A, Kocsis K, Kincses ZT, Vecsei L, Must A. Continuous theta-burst stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex inhibits improvement on a working memory task. Sci Rep. 2018 Oct 4;8(1):14835. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33187-3.
• Ekhtiari H, Tavakoli H, Addolorato G, Baeken C, Bonci A, Campanella S, Castelo-Branco L, Challet-Bouju G, Clark VP, Claus E, Dannon PN, Del Felice A, den Uyl T, Diana M, di Giannantonio M, Fedota JR, Fitzgerald P, Gallimberti L, Grall-Bronnec M, Herremans SC, Herrmann MJ, Jamil A, Khedr E, Kouimtsidis C, Kozak K, Krupitsky E, Lamm C, Lechner WV, Madeo G, Malmir N, Martinotti G, McDonald WM, Montemitro C, Nakamura-Palacios EM, Nasehi M, Noel X, Nosratabadi M, Paulus M, Pettorruso M, Pradhan B, Praharaj SK, Rafferty H, Sahlem G, Salmeron BJ, Sauvaget A, Schluter RS, Sergiou C, Shahbabaie A, Sheffer C, Spagnolo PA, Steele VR, Yuan TF, van Dongen JDM, Van Waes V, Venkatasubramanian G, Verdejo-Garcia A, Verveer I, Welsh JW, Wesley MJ, Witkiewitz K, Yavari F, Zarrindast MR, Zawertailo L, Zhang X, Cha YH, George TP, Frohlich F, Goudriaan AE, Fecteau S, Daughters SB, Stein EA, Fregni F, Nitsche MA, Zangen A, Bikson M, Hanlon CA. Transcranial electrical and magnetic stimulation (tES and TMS) for addiction medicine: A consensus paper on the present state of the science and the road ahead. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2019 Sep;104:118-140. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.06.007. Epub 2019 Jul 2.
• McNeill A, Monk RL, Qureshi AW, Makris S, Heim D. Continuous Theta Burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Inhibitory Control and Increases Alcohol Consumption. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2018 Dec;18(6):1198-1206. doi: 10.3758/s13415-018-0631-3.
• To WT, De Ridder D, Hart J Jr, Vanneste S. Changing Brain Networks Through Non-invasive Neuromodulation. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018 Apr 13;12:128. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00128. eCollection 2018.
• Zilverstand A, Huang AS, Alia-Klein N, Goldstein RZ. Neuroimaging Impaired Response Inhibition and Salience Attribution in Human Drug Addiction: A Systematic Review. Neuron. 2018 Jun 6;98(5):886-903. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.03.048.
• Moran TP, Jendrusina AA, Moser JS. The psychometric properties of the late positive potential during emotion processing and regulation. Brain Res. 2013 Jun 21;1516:66-75. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2013.04.018. Epub 2013 Apr 17.
• Schicktanz N, Fastenrath M, Milnik A, Spalek K, Auschra B, Nyffeler T, Papassotiropoulos A, de Quervain DJ, Schwegler K. Continuous theta burst stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex decreases medium load working memory performance in healthy humans. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 17;10(3):e0120640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120640. eCollection 2015.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 11, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 26, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): April 28, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 4, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 2, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Behavioral Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Signs and Symptoms; Pain; Depression; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Investigative Techniques; Epidemiologic Methods; Data Collection; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Public Health; Environment and Public Health; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Psychological Tests; Surveys and Questionnaires; Patient Health Questionnaire
• Other Study ID Numbers: NEUR-2020-29420

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: No