Neurophysiology of the Basal Ganglia, Thalamus, and Cerebellum in Patients With Movement Disorders

March 8, 2026 updated by: Lauren Hammer, University of Pennsylvania
The research study is being conducted to better understand parts of the human brain called the cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum in patients with movement disorders (such as Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia, or ataxia). These brain structures are involved in movement disorders. This study attempts to better understand the brain electrical activity associated with these disorders, both in patients with and without deep brain stimulation (DBS). Recordings are made from the scalp with a noninvasive electrode and/or through the DBS stimulator if the participant has a stimulator model that is able to sense brain activity. These recordings are analyzed along with measures of movement disorder symptoms to identify brain signal signatures of symptoms.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients 18 years of age and above
  • Any patient who has been diagnosed by a movement disorders neurologist with one of the following movement disorders:
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Dystonia
  • Tremor, including essential tremor
  • Cerebellar ataxia
  • Other hyperkinetic movement disorders, such as chorea and tics

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients with dementia

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Participants without Deep Brain Stimulators

Multimodal neurophysiology (for example, electroencephalography and electromyography) will be measured during the following:

Movement disorder medication administration -The patient's movement disorders medications, prescribed by their treating physicians outside of this study, may be administered during an experimental session.
Other: Prescribed Medications
participant's movement disorders medications, prescribed by their treating physician
Experimental: Participants with Deep Brain Stimulators

Multimodal neurophysiology (for example, electroencephalography and electromyography) will be measured during the following:

Movement disorder medication administration -The patient's movement disorders medications, prescribed by their treating physicians outside of this study, may be administered during an experimental session.

Deep brain stimulator (DBS) adjustment - Participants who have had deep brain stimulation implantation as part of their standard-of-care clinical treatment may participate in this study. The patient's stimulator may be adjusted within normal clinical limits during an experimental session.
Other: Prescribed Medications
participant's movement disorders medications, prescribed by their treating physician
Other: Deep brain stimulation adjustment
Deep brain stimulator parameters may be adjusted within normal clinical limits

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neural signal biomarkers
Time Frame: 5 years
Spatiotemporal patterns of brain neural activity (neural signal biomarkers / neurophysiologic signatures) associated with movement disorders symptoms.
5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

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)

December 10, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 21, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 21, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

February 27, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 8, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 857558

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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