Investigating the Plasticity of Human Predictive Coding Through Neuromodulation

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Occipital tACS at IAF-2Hz: tACS applied to occipital areas at 2 Hz below the individual alpha frequency (IAF)

Occipital tACS at IAF+2Hz: tACS applied to occipital areas at 2 Hz above the individual alpha frequency (IAF)

Frontal tACS at 4-7 Hz: tACS applied to frontal areas at 4-7 Hz

Occipital tRNS: tRNS applied to occipital brain regions

Frontal tRNS: tRNS applied to frontal brain regions

Sham/placebo tACS: tACS is activated only for 30 seconds and then turned off, thus resulting ineffective

Sham/placebo tRNS: tRNS is activated only for 30 seconds and then turned off, thus resulting ineffective

Study summary

The hypothesis of the study is to investigate how different trm (tES) methods (transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation, tACS, and transcranial Random Noise Stimulation, tRNS) applied at different stimulation frequencies and networks can modulate the predictive mechanisms in human perception and cognition. This is an interventional, monocentric, cross-sectional randomized, single-blinded study on healthy adult volunteers, recruited through online advertisements, flyers and oral transmission. Volunteers will be recruited from the general population of young adults.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Behavioral measures — During the procedure
  To study if tACS or tRNS delivered in different brain networks can modulate the learning of statistical regularities in the context of visual perception we will evaluate the following behavioral measures recorded in a computerized visual perception task: hit rate, miss, false alarms, correct rejections. These behavioral measures will allow to derive measures of sensitivity (d') and response criterion (Beta and C), according to the theoretical framework of the Signal Detection Theory (SDT).

Trial sites (1)

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