Home-based tDCS in Frontotemporal Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease
Stopped early · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Mild Cognitive Impairment, Primary Progressive Aphasia, Dementia
In brief
The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation and computerized cognitive training on executive functioning in individuals with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia. In this study, investigators will use transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to stimulate the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Previous studies have demonstrated that tDCS over the DLPFC led to improvements in attention deficit caused by stroke, Parkinson's Disease, and major depression as well as language deficits caused by neurodegenerative conditions such as primary progressive aphasia or mild cognitive impairment. The investigators seek to expand on this literature by investigating how anodal tDCS paired with and without cognitive training will impact executive functioning in PPA with Frontotemporal Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease pathology and Mild Cognitive Impairment/Alzheimer's Disease (e.g. shifting, updating, monitoring, and manipulation).
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT05978804
- Run by
- Johns Hopkins University
- People needed
- 36
- Starts
- 2023-08-10
- Expected to finish
- 2025-09-10
- Last updated by the study team
- 2026-02-27
Who can join
Age: 50 and older, up to 90. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Must be clinically diagnosed with PPA, fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), MCI or mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). Diagnosis will be based on neuropsychological testing, language testing (most commonly the Western Aphasia Battery), MRI, and clinical assessment.
- Must be right-handed.
- Must be proficient in English.
- Must have a minimum high-school education.
You may not qualify if…
- Uncorrected visual or hearing impairment by self-report.
- Stroke/other premorbid neurological disorder affecting the brain.
- Any other developmental language-based learning disorder other than PPA.
- Inability to follow directions for baseline tasks.
- Pre-existing psychiatric disorders such as behavioral disturbances, severe depression, and schizophrenia that do not allow them to comply or follow the study schedule and requirements such as repeated evaluation and therapy will be excluded.
- Exclusion Criteria for MRI participation:
- Severe claustrophobia.
- Cardiac pacemakers or ferromagnetic implants.
- Pregnant women.
Where it is running
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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