The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Motor and Cognitive Functions in Idiopathic Fallers
Status unconfirmed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Elderly Idiopathic Fallers
In brief
The concurrent performance of two tasks, i.e., dual tasking (DT), is a common and ubiquitous every day phenomena. For example, people frequently walk while talking on a cellphone or drive while talking to a passenger. Often, the performance of one or more of these simultaneously performed tasks may deteriorate when another task is carried out at the same time, even in healthy young adults. This reduction in performance is referred to as the DT deficit or DT cost and is typically much higher in Idiopathic Fallers (IF) than in age-matched controls. In this population the DT cost impairs the gait pattern, as manifested, for example, in increased gait variability, exacerbating instability and fall risk. In the proposed study, would be evaluated the effects of tDCS on dual tasking performance following tDCS. The researchers expect that stimulation of the Pre Frontal Cortex (PFC) (using tDCS) will increase DT performance and prefrontal activation.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT02954328
- Run by
- Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
- People needed
- 40
- Starts
- 2016-11-01
- Expected to finish
- 2017-12-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2017-04-21
Who can join
Age: 65 and older, up to 85. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- age 65-85 years,
- ability to walk for 6 minutes unassisted,
- adequate vision capabilities, and
- stable medications for the past month.
You may not qualify if…
- diagnosis of stroke, Parkinson's disease, peripheral neuropathy or other neurologic disorder,
- lower-extremity deformity, joint replacement, severe arthritis or other diagnosed musculoskeletal disorder that may influence gait,
- orthostatic hypotension, recent history of syncope or vertigo,
- myocardial infarction or surgery within the past 6 months,
- any unstable medical condition,
- psychiatric co-morbidity (e.g., major depressive disorder as determined by DSM V criteria),
- likely dementia (i.e., Mini Mental State Exam score < 24 or based on DSM V),
- sedating medications (sedatives, anti-psychotics, hypnotics, anti-depressants,
- colorblindness (confounder for cognitive assessment), or
- contraindications to tDCS
Where it is running
- Hebrew Rehabilitation Center / Harvard Medical School — Roslindale, Massachusetts, United States (enrolling)
- Laboratory for Gait and Neurodynamics, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center — Tel Aviv, Israel (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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