An interventional study of tDCS and sham tDCS in Healthy Adults, sponsored by The University of Texas at Dallas. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-02-03.
Sponsored by The University of Texas at Dallas · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether we can accelerate learning and improve associative memory performance in healthy subjects by applying transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) during a Face Name memory task.
Associative memory refers to remembering the association between two items, such as a face and a name or a word in English and the same word in another language. It is not only important for learning, but it is also one of the first aspects of memory performance that is impacted by aging and by Alzheimer׳s disease. For decades, neuroscientists have investigated associative learning and memory and ways to accelerate and enhance associative learning and memory.
Transcranial Direct Current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive and painless electrical stimulation technique that has demonstrated to accelerate learning and improve memory in some studies. To investigate whether we can accelerate learning and improve associative memory using tDCS, we will compare the performance in a Face Name Associate memory task from 2 groups. The first group will get active tDCS during the study phase of the Face Name Memory task, whereas the second group will get sham tDCS during the study phase of the task.
Exclusion Criteria:
active tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task
Device: tDCS
sham tDCS with Face Name associate Memory task
Device: sham tDCS
active tDCS
sham tDCS
Associative Memory Assessed by a Face Name Associate Memory Experiment
All participants performed a face memory task .The face stimuli consisted of 120 grayscale pictures of human faces. Only faces with a neutral expression facing forward were selected. Half of the faces were male, and the other half were female. The face-name association memory task was divided into (1) an encoding phase, (2) a consolidation phase, and (3) a retrieval phase. During the encoding phase, participants studied 60 successively presented face-name pairs and were instructed to assess their gender to keep them focused to the task. The encoding phase was followed by a consolidation phase where participants were instructed to "sit still, relax, and think about nothing in particular" for 10 minutes, During the retrieval phase, participants were presented with 60 old and 60 new faces and were instructed to assess whether they have seen this face during the encoding phase. The outcome was the percent of Correct Name to Face Matches
Time frame: Associate Memory is assessed after a 10 minutes break following the study phase
1. Age between 18 and 35 2. Currently not using any medication 3. Native English speaker 4. Capable of understanding and signing an informed consent
| Milestone | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS |
|---|---|---|
| Started | 15 | 15 |
| Completed | 15 | 15 |
| Not completed | 0 | 0 |
All participants performed a face memory task .The face stimuli consisted of 120 grayscale pictures of human faces. Only faces with a neutral expression facing forward were selected. Half of the faces were male, and the other half were female. The face-name association memory task was divided into (1) an encoding phase, (2) a consolidation phase, and (3) a retrieval phase. During the encoding phase, participants studied 60 successively presented face-name pairs and were instructed to assess their gender to keep them focused to the task. The encoding phase was followed by a consolidation phase where participants were instructed to "sit still, relax, and think about nothing in particular" for 10 minutes, During the retrieval phase, participants were presented with 60 old and 60 new faces and were instructed to assess whether they have seen this face during the encoding phase. The outcome was the percent of Correct Name to Face Matches
| Percent of Correct Name to Face Matches | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS |
|---|---|---|
| Associative Memory Assessed by a Face Name Associate Memory Experiment | 44.22 ± 11.54 | 35.44 ± 12.04 |
Collected over 1 week. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.
| Group | Deaths | Serious | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active tDCS | 0/15 (0%) | 0/15 (0%) | 0/15 (0%) |
| Sham tDCS | 0/15 (0%) | 0/15 (0%) | 0/15 (0%) |
| Age, Continuous(years) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 19.67 ± 2.5 | 20.6 ± 3.9 | 20.13 ± 3.26 |
| Sex: Female, Male(Participants) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 10 | 12 | 22 |
| Male | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Asian | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black or African American | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| White | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| More than one race | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown or Not Reported | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Region of Enrollment(participants) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 15 | 15 | 30 |
| Beck Depression Inventory Scale(units on a scale) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 5.20 ± 3.61 | 3.47 ± 3.62 | 4.33 ± 3.66 |
| Beck Anxiety Inventory Scale(units on a scale) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 4.53 ± 3.38 | 2.67 ± 2.85 | 3.60 ± 3.21 |
| Mini Mental State Examination(units on a scale) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 28.9 ± 0.88 | 28.5 ± 1.51 | 28.7 ± 1.24 |
| Profile of Mood States- Mood Disturbance(units on a scale) | Active tDCS | Sham tDCS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 10.27 ± 23.2 | 1.47 ± 11.33 | 4.4 ± 18.9 |
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The University of Texas at Dallas