Stimulating Deep Brain Regions With a Magnetic Stimulator

NCT00063245 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 18

Last updated 2008-03-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a special coil designed for magnetic stimulation of areas deep in the brain can affect mood and emotion in healthy volunteers. Researchers hope to better understand how the brain controls mood and motivation and what goes wrong with this process in disease.

For transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a wire coil is held over the scalp. A brief electrical current passes through the coil and creates a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain.

Eighteen participants, 9 men and 9 women, will be enrolled in this study. They will be assigned to one or both of the following two experiments.

Experiment 1

In this experiment, researchers will test the effectiveness of a new type of wire coil. They will deliver magnetic impulses of varying strength. Approximately 150 stimulations will be given over of about 20 minutes. To determine whether the coil causes any problem with hearing, participants will undergo a hearing test immediately before and after the experiment.

Experiment 2

This experiment, which has two parts, is designed to determine whether TMS can affect mood. In the first part, participants will be asked to report any changes in mood before, during and after the magnetic stimulation. In the second part, they will be asked to choose between sets of 2 identical pictures-choosing one will result in full magnetic stimulation, choosing the other will result in stimulation at 10 percent of full intensity.

Participants will be compensated up to $100 for their involvement in this study.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    lead NIH

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2003-06-30
Completion
2005-04-30

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 NCT00063245 on ClinicalTrials.gov