Effects of PFC tDCS on Cognitive Control, Attention Lapses and Coordinated Neural Activity in the Theta and Alpha Bands
- Conditions
- Healthy
- Interventions
- Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
- Registration Number
- NCT04885322
- Lead Sponsor
- University of California, Davis
- Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to better understand the neural correlates of higher-order cognition, both in the healthy brain and in schizophrenia, and to determine how these mechanisms are modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) at frontal and occipital scalp sites. Testing the effects of tDCS at these scalp sites on cognitive task performance will help us understand the roles of the brain regions corresponding to these sites during higher-order cognitive processing (language comprehension, cognitive control, and related attention and memory processes). Behavioral and electrophysiological (EEG) measures will be used to assess cognitive performance. Our overarching hypothesis is that stimulating prefrontal circuits with tDCS can improve cognitive control performance, and ultimately performance on a range of cognitive tasks, as compared to stimulating a different cortical region (occipital cortex) or using sham stimulation.
This study is solely intended as basic research in order to understand brain function in healthy individuals and individuals with schizophrenia. This study is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat schizophrenia or any other disease.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 75
- between ages of 18 and 50
- ability to sufficiently speak and understand English so as to be able to understand and complete cognitive tasks
- ability to give valid informed consent
- no history of head trauma
- no current or previous history of treatment with psychotropic medication
- corrected vision 20/30 or better
- tDCS/MRI contraindications, including: pregnancy, ferrous metal in any part of the body, serious medical conditions, claustrophobia, metallic implants, skin damage, conditions such as eczema at electrode sites, cranial pathologies
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- CROSSOVER
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description DLPFC Stimulation Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Intervention. 20 minutes of 2 mA direct current stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Occipital Stimulation Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Intervention. 20 minutes of 2 mA direct current stimulation over the occipital cortex. Sham Stimulation Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Placebo Comparator. 0.5-1 minutes of 2 mA direct current stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex followed by 19-19.5 minutes of sham stimulation
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Change Detection Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month Pre-trial power in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz)
EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month Pre-trial power in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz)
Behavioral Attention Lapse Measures on the Change Detection Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month Attention factor (a); Guess factor (g)
Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Stroop Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month Incongruent versus Congruent difference in error rate and reaction time
EEG Cognitive Control Measures on the Stroop Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month response-locked power in the theta frequency band (4-7 Hz)
Behavioral Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month Error Rate on Incorrect Congruent trials (Full Lapses) and Slow-but-Correct Congruent trials (Partial Lapses)
EEG Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month delay period power in the theta frequency band (4-7 Hz)
Delivered tDCS Dose to PFC Through study completion, an average of 1 month Estimated electric field in PFC region of interest
Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task Through study completion, an average of 1 month WM storage capacity (k-max)
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Imaging Research Center
🇺🇸Sacramento, California, United States