tES Effects on Associative Memory Performance

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Alzheimer Disease; Healthy; Mild Cognitive Impairment

• Registration Number: NCT03351452
• Lead Sponsor: University of Bern

Brief Summary

Previous studies showed that transcranial electric stimulation (tES) applied over the prefrontal cortex improves cognitive performance in healthy elderly adults as well as in patients suffering from mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, tES methods might be a useful intervention tool for patients suffering from memory impairment in early terms of the disease.

The present study aims at establishing a connection between the stimulation-induced changes on associative memory performance and its underlying neurophysiological parameters. tES effects and their underlying mechanisms will be compared between healthy elderly controls and clinical study populations receiving either real or sham tES over the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during an associative memory task.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2017-11-14
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-11-17
• Study First Posted: 2017-11-22
• Study Start: 2018-04-09
• Primary Completion: 2018-09-30
• Study Completion: 2020-02-24
• Status Verified: 2020-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-03-12
• Last Update Posted: 2020-03-13

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 28

Inclusion Criteria

• Written informed consent
• Non-smokers
• Right-handedness
• Native German speakers or comparable level of fluency
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

Exclusion Criteria

• Neurological or psychiatric condition (other than diagnosed cognitive impairment)
• Past head injuries
• Magnetizable implants
• History of seizures
• Current or life-time alcohol or drug abuse
• Skin diseases

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: CROSSOVER

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Performance on immediate cued recall task	20 min	Number of correct responses on retrieval task of previously learned associative memory items
Performance on delayed cued recall task	24 hours	Number of correct responses on retrieval task of previously learned associative memory items

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
task-dependent BOLD activity	20 min	Measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
resting-state BOLD activity	10 min	Measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy; 🇨🇭 Bern, Switzerland