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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Study Imagination of Movement

NCT00046215 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2008-03-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study will use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to examine the relationship between cognitive processing and motor control by determining whether a part of the brain called the premotor cortex is essential to imagining movement. TMS, described below, is a method of brain stimulation that can temporarily inhibit brain functions of the area underlying the stimulator.

Healthy right-handed normal volunteers may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history, neurological examination, and test of finger dexterity.

Participants will perform a sequential finger tapping movement in response to a series of numbers (stimuli) displayed on a computer monitor. After 10 stimuli, they will be asked which finger they tapped last. They will then imagine the same finger tapping movement and will be asked which finger they tapped last in their imagination. During these exercises, participants will undergo transcranial magnetic stimulation. For this procedure, the subject is seated comfortably in a chair. A wire coil is placed on the scalp and a brief electrical current is passed through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that passes into the brain. This generates a very small electrical current in the brain, which briefly disrupts the function of the brain cells in the stimulated area. The stimulation may cause twitching in arm or leg muscles. During the stimulation, the electrical activity of muscles is recorded with a computer or other recording device, using electrodes attached to the skin with tape.

Subjects will complete eight experimental blocks of testing. One block consists of 20 experimental trials, with each trial lasting about 10 seconds. Five pairs of TMS stimuli are given per trial, with pulses delivered in short bursts of one second each. After each block, subjects draw a mark on a line on paper, showing how much attention they are paying, how much fatigue they are experiencing, and how well they think they are executing the tasks. Each TMS session takes up to 3.5 hours.

Before the TMS session, participants will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for use in determining proper placement of the TMS coil. MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body organs and tissues. For this procedure, the subject lies still in a narrow metal cylinder (the scanner) for about 30 minutes during the scan.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    lead NIH

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2002-09-30
Completion
2003-11-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00046215 on ClinicalTrials.gov