tDCS as Treatment for Motor Function

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS): The Crossover design will enable us to use each participant as their own control.

Stimulation Arm: Participants will be exposed to the brain stimulation protocol while undergoing certain motor task during the training sessions.

Study summary

Previous preliminary results are sufficiently impressive to suggest that tDCS stimulation does have the potential to improve motor function when that ability is trained during stimulation. In the proposed study, the investigation will assess whether walking sessions combined with tDCS lead to improvements in motor function: gait, articulation, eye gaze, and motor dexterity. In addition, the investigators wish to examine if such results can be replicated in people with other conditions, such as cortical basal syndrome, and Parkinson's disease.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Gait speed — Measures collected at three points each round: baseline in week 1, post-treatment at the final stimulation session, and follow-up two weeks after the final session.
  Within each round, scores from the final week and final session of real tDCS stimulation will be compared to performance during the first week and final sham tDCS session to check for significant improvement. Our primary outcome measures will be those found for gait; for example, a faster walking time subsequent to tDCS stimulation compared to the placebo baseline. Participants will also return two weeks later for a post-stimulation evaluation to check if improvement was maintained. To check if the arrangement of electrodes impacts the effect, times from the final tDCS session of each round will be compared.

Trial sites (1)

More Baycrest trials in Canada

Other trials for the same condition