Neurofeedback as a Novel Treatment for Mild Cognitive Impairment & Early Alzheimer's
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 发起方
- 入组人数
- 30
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Memory performance
研究概览
简要总结
This study protocol proposes an EEG based neurofeedback (EEG-NFB) technique to upregulate the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in patients suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer's disease (AD).
EEG-NFB has been successfully used as a clinical tool for over 40 years. It is based on electrical activity measured near the surface of the brain using EEG and fed back to the patient within half a second.
MCI is a clinical condition considered as a precursor of AD. NFB appears to be a promising approach to treat MCI, since it has been shown to be able to induce changes in brain plasticity. This research focuses on the PCC, which has been reported to be implicated in MCI, and due to its location (proximity to the surface) accessible by means of EEG- NFB.
A preliminary research in MCI patients, conducted at our lab showed the lower the memory score was at the beginning of the training, the better a subject managed to improve later on. The investigators therefore presume that patients with early Alzheimer's disease, whose cognitive ability is more affected compared to MCI, may benefit from EEG-NFB as well, and maybe to a larger extent compared to MCI.
详细描述
Cognitive impairment preceding dementia is called mild cognitive impairment (MCI) . Patients with MCI are at high risk for progression to Alzheimer's disease (AD), at a rate of about 12% per year. The amnestic form of MCI is the most common form, and most of the literature on the topic refers to this form of the disorder. Clinical criteria for MCI include:
- Memory complaint, preferably corroborated by an informant.
- Objective memory impairment for age and education.
- Largely intact general cognitive function.
- Essentially preserved activities of daily living.
- Not demented
Currently, there is no known cure for MCI or means of stopping or reversing its progression. Patients with Alzheimer's disease were also included in this study , as they are considered by many researchers to be on the same continuum of cognitive decline as patients with MCI which indeed, carry an increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.
This study relies the data from a preliminary study conducted in the investigators' lab on patients with MCI, and is meant to further validate our results. In the aforementioned study, participants managed to improve their memory score after 10 training sessions. In addition, a negative correlation between initial memory score and ability to improve was found. It is therefore hypothesized that subjects with AD may benefit as much as subjects with MCI and perhaps even to a larger extent.
Neurofeedback (NFB) is a treatment method based on learning with operant conditioning, in which a feedback (or a reward) is given in proportion with the desired physiological activity in order to improve cognition and/or behavior. This research will focus on using electrical activity measured with EEG as physiological activity to be influenced.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Treatment
- 盲法
- Single (Participant)
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 50 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •Diagnosis of either mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer's disease
- •Age > 50
排除标准
- •Active neurological disorder
- •Any axis 1 type disorder
结局指标
主要结局
Memory performance
时间窗: 6 weeks
improvement in memory performance
次要结局
- General cognitive performance improvement(6 weeks)
- qEEG(6 weeks)
研究者
Doron Todder
Head of anxiety unit
Beersheva Mental Health Center