TDCS to Improve Motivation and Memory in Elderly (TIME)

Northeastern University

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Motivation

Treatments: Device: Direct tDCS; Device: Sham tDCS; Device: Personalized tDCS; Device: Indirect tDCS

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT04268186

18-07-20

R21AG061743 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Fundamental advancements in understanding successful aging are limited by the lack of causal, rather than just correlational methods to connect age-related changes in memory ability to changes in brain structure and function. In this study, non-invasive electric brain stimulation will be used as a tool to create causal links between successful memory function in aging and brain structures associated with motivation. Recently, it was shown that a group of elderly, dubbed "superagers", are indistinguishable from young adults in memory performance and the structure of cortical limbic regions. A key superaging region is mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), a brain structure associated with motivation and tenacity. The MCC is a hub region that synchronizes information flow between three core brain networks. The goal of the research is to explore the contribution of motivation to memory performance by modulating MCC connectivity with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to provide the first causal evidence that experimentally induced motivation can improve memory performance. Since MCC has not been stimulated with tDCS before, we will test three different stimulation protocols and compare against a placebo. The stimulation protocols were computationally optimized for this project. The primary aim is to find the stimulation protocol most successful at improving memory performance. In order to elucidate the mechanisms behind these changes, effects of stimulation on motivation and network connectivity will be investigated. If indeed memory can be improved by increasing motivation and effort via stimulating MCC, this study will generate new insights into the motivational mechanisms of successful aging.

Enrollment: 72 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• between the ages of 65 and 80
• normal or corrected to normal vision
• fluent in speaking, reading and understanding English
• right-handed

Exclusion criteria

• any metal implants that may cause harm through MRI scanning
• other metals that may interfere with obtaining MRI signals
• claustrophobic
• pregnancy
• history of neurological or psychiatric illnesses
• history of fainting, seizures or epilepsy
• history of migraines
• history of drug abuse
• learning disability
• intracranial lesion
• any prescription or regular medication except for birth control
• any uncontrolled medical condition
• skin disease or damage on scalp
• hair style or head dress that prevents electrode contact with the scalp
• any condition affecting agility of hands (e.g. acute or chronic tenosynovitis, active joint deformity of arthritic origin)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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72 participants in 4 patient groups

Direct tDCS

Experimental group

Description:

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was computationally optimized to target mid-cingulate cortex directly.

Treatment:

Device: Direct tDCS

Indirect tDCS

Experimental group

Description:

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was computationally optimized to target the middle frontal gyrus, a brain area connected to mid-cingulate cortex.

Treatment:

Device: Indirect tDCS

Personalized tDCS

Experimental group

Description:

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will be individually optimized to simultaneously stimulate key nodes connected to mid-cingulate cortex, including anterior insula, MFG and supramarginal gyrus.

Treatment:

Device: Personalized tDCS

Sham tDCS

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Placebo transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will be applied.

Treatment:

Device: Sham tDCS