Tracking a Tactile Signal Along the Nervous System

June 15, 2026 updated by: Netta Gurari, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Quantify the flow of a tactile signal from the stimulus at the finger at the peripheral nervous system (PNS), to the central nervous system (CNS), and to cognitive perception at the brain in young adults (Aim 1) and individuals with and without stroke (Aim 2).

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

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 Contact

  • Name: Netta Gurari, PhD
  • Phone Number: 540-231-3073
  • Email: gurari@vt.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Virginia
      • Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, 24061
        • Recruiting
        • Virginia Tech
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

-right-hand dominance for participants who are neurotypical

For Aim 1:

-age range of 18-23

For Aim 2:

  • participants who are neurotypical will be a similar age to the participants with stroke
  • participants who are neurotypical will have no musculoskeletal and neurological conditions
  • participants with stroke will have a single stroke incident resulting in a unilateral lesion (ischemic and hemorrhagic)
  • participants with stroke will be in the chronic phase (>1 year from stroke onset)
  • participants with stroke will have an onset of stroke after the age of 18
  • participants with stroke who meet the criteria of having the capacity to provide informed consent, regardless of aphasia

Exclusion Criteria:

  • minors
  • pregnant women
  • prisoners
  • adults not capable of consenting on their own behalf.

For Aim 2:

  • participants with stroke who have used antispastic injections in the past six months
  • participants with stroke who have a lesion in the brainstem and/or cerebellum
  • participants with stroke who have a stroke arising due to brain surgery
  • participants with stroke who have hemineglect

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Stimulus magnitude
Differing levels of tactile stimulus will be applied
Behavioral: Tactile stimulation
Tactile stimuli of differing magnitudes will be applied

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Conscious detection threshold
Time Frame: 30 minutes during the first session of a one session protocol
The magnitude at which a force stimulus applied to the finger can be first consciously detected. Different force levels will be applied, and the participant will indicate which of these forces can be detected. The changes in force applied will be in the units of N.
30 minutes during the first session of a one session protocol

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Brain activation
Time Frame: 60 minutes during the first session of a one session protocol
The magnitude and regions of brain activated in response to differing levels of force stimuli will be captured using fMRI. The % signal change in the brain will be used to define the brain activation in response to each force stimulus level.
60 minutes during the first session of a one session protocol

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Peripheral nerve function
Time Frame: 30 minutes during the first session of a one session evaluation protocol
Electrotactile stimuli will be applied to a finger, with the current (A) changing in magnitude. We will measure the level to which the peripheral nerve is activated using surface electrodes, which identify changes in voltage along the nerve.
30 minutes during the first session of a one session evaluation protocol

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Netta Gurari, PhD, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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)

February 29, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 8, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 26, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

January 30, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 15, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 23-1256

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

No

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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