Investigating Memory Retrieval Improvement in Healthy Subjects

Sponsor

The University of Texas at Dallas (Other)

Overall Status

Active, not recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT03312920

Collaborator

(none)

Enrollment

Location

Arms

71.3

Anticipated Duration (Months)

0.8

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether learning can be accelerated and associative memory performance improved in healthy subjects by applying transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) during a Face Name memory task.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Healthy Adults	Device: active anodal tDCS Device: sham tDCS Device: active cathodal tDCS	N/A

Detailed Description

Associative memory refers to remembering the association between two items, such as a face and a name or a word in English and the same word in another language. It is not only important for learning, but it is also one of the first aspects of memory performance that is impacted by aging and by Alzheimer׳s disease. For decades, neuroscientists have investigated associative learning and memory and ways to accelerate and enhance associative learning and memory.

Transcranial Direct Current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive and painless electrical stimulation technique that has demonstrated to accelerate learning and improve memory in some studies. To investigate whether learning can be accelerated and associative memory improved by using tDCS, this study will compare the performance in a Face Name Associate memory task from 3 groups. The first group will get active aodal tDCS during the study phase of the Face Name Memory task, whereas the second group will get sham tDCS during the study phase of the task and the third group will get active cathodal tDCS.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

56 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)

Primary Purpose:

Basic Science

Official Title:

Investigating Memory Retrieval Improvement in Healthy Subjects

Actual Study Start Date :

Sep 27, 2017

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Oct 6, 2022

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Sep 5, 2023

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: active anodal tDCS active anodal tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task	Device: active anodal tDCS active anodal tDCS with memory task
Sham Comparator: Sham tDCS sham tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task	Device: sham tDCS sham tDCS with memory task
Experimental: active cathodal tDCS active cathodal tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task	Device: active cathodal tDCS active cathodal tDCS with memory task

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: active anodal tDCS

active anodal tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task

Device: active anodal tDCS

active anodal tDCS with memory task

Sham Comparator: Sham tDCS

sham tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task

Device: sham tDCS

sham tDCS with memory task

Experimental: active cathodal tDCS

active cathodal tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task

Device: active cathodal tDCS

active cathodal tDCS with memory task

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Associative Memory assessed by a Face Name Associate Memory experiment [Associate Memory is assessed after a 10 minutes break following the study phase]
Changes in performance in the Face Name Associate memory task is compared between the 2 groups (1. Real tDCS+ Face Name Associate memory task & 2. Sham tDCS+ Face Name Associate memory task) to investigate the influence of tDCS on Associative Memory.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Age: 18-35 years Native English Speaker

Exclusion Criteria:

History of severe head injuries, epileptic insults, or heart disease. Severe psychiatric disorders and severe untreated medical problems. Contraindications for tDCS (pregnant women, implanted devices)

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	University of Texas at Dallas	Richardson	Texas	United States	75080

Sponsors and Collaborators

The University of Texas at Dallas

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Sven Vanneste, PhD, The University of Texas at Dallas

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.

Responsible Party:

Sven Vanneste, Associate professor, The University of Texas at Dallas

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT03312920

Other Study ID Numbers:

17-132

First Posted:

Oct 18, 2017

Last Update Posted:

Jan 26, 2022

Last Verified:

Jan 1, 2022

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

Plan to Share IPD:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:

Yes

Keywords provided by Sven Vanneste, Associate professor, The University of Texas at Dallas

tDCS, accelerated learning, memory

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Jan 26, 2022