Supporting Decisions With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Healthy Young and Elderly Individuals

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Real tDCS; Sham tDCS
• Interventions: Device: sham transcranial direct current stimulation; Device: real anodal transcranial direct current stimulation

• Registration Number: NCT03959462
• Lead Sponsor: University of Bern

Brief Summary

Decisions are part of the daily life. On the neuronal level, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is important during complex decisions (e.g., whether something is emotional for a person or not). We apply transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the aim to increase dlPFC activity and thereby modulate decisions towards emotional content.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2018-03-06
• Study First Submitted: 2019-05-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-05-20
• Study First Posted: 2019-05-22
• Primary Completion: 2022-08-30
• Study Completion: 2022-12-30
• Status Verified: 2023-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-05-09
• Last Update Posted: 2023-05-10

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 254

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
• tES in the 3 months preceding or during the present study
• Caffeine 3 hours prior to training

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Sham tDCS	sham transcranial direct current stimulation	30 s of 1 mA anodal tDCS applied via 5x7 cm rubber electrodes over the DLPFC (current density: 0.028 mA/cm2). Additional ramp-up and ramp-down phase at beginning and end of stimulation lasting for 15 s. Electrodes remain attached to the participant's head for the duration of the decision task.
Real tDCS	real anodal transcranial direct current stimulation	20 min of 1 mA real anodal transcranial direct current stimulation applied via 5x7 cm rubber electrodes over the DLPFC (current density: 0.028 mA/cm2). Additional ramp-up and ramp-down phase at beginning and end of stimulation lasting for 15 s. Electrodes remain attached to the participant's head for the duration of the decision task.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Influence of Stimulation on the Decisions	10 minutes	Number of words which were rated as positive or negative.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Profile of Mood States (POMS; after stimulation)	3 minutes	Changes in the subjective measure mood, assessed with questionnaire Scores for each item is recorded as 0 for "not at all" up to 6 for "very strong". A Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) score is calculated by summing the totals for the negative subscales dejection (14 items), fatigue (7 items) and discontent (7 items) and then subtracting the total for the positive subscale zest (7 items).
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; before stimulation)	2 minutes	Changes in the subjective measure mood, assessed with self-report questionnaire divided into two mood scales. One scale measures a person's positive emotion and the other scale measures the negative. Each segment has ten terms, which can be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 to indicate the extent to which the respondent agrees that this applies to him (higher values means higher agreement).
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; after stimulation)	2 minutes	Changes in the subjective measure mood, assessed with self-report questionnaire divided into two mood scales. One scale measures a person's positive emotion and the other scale measures the negative. Each segment has ten terms, which can be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 to indicate the extent to which the respondent agrees that this applies to him (higher values means higher agreement).
Profile of Mood States (POMS; before stimulation)	3 minutes	Changes in the subjective measure mood, assessed with questionnaire Scores for each item is recorded as 0 for "not at all" up to 6 for "very strong". A Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) score is calculated by summing the totals for the negative subscales dejection (14 items), fatigue (7 items) and discontent (7 items) and then subtracting the total for the positive subscale zest (7 items).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Klinik für Alterspsychiatrie und Psychotherapie UPD Bern; 🇨🇭 Bern, Switzerland