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The Effect of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Learning With Reward in Healthy Humans

NCT01260740 · Status: TERMINATED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 174

Last updated 2017-10-06

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background:

\- Two areas on the surface of the brain, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and motor cortex (MC), play a key role during learning. Researchers are interested in determining the effect that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on the DLPFC and MC has on participants' performance of learning tasks. By studying the effect of TMS on reaction time, learning, and memory, researchers hope to better understand how to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease and traumatic brain injury that affect these parts of the brain.

Objectives:

* To study the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and motor cortex.
* To learn which areas of the brain are used to perform certain learning and memory tasks.

Eligibility:

\- Healthy, right-handed individuals between 18 and 70 years of age.

Design:

* Participants will be screened with a physical and neurological examination and a medical and psychiatric history.
* Participants will be asked to take part in one of five different parts of this study. Most participants will have four 2-hour visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Some participants (those involved in Part 5) will have only one 2-hour visit.
* Parts 1 and 2 (four visits): Participants will have TMS, and then do a learning task that may provide a small monetary reward. On the first visit, before the TMS, participants will take an intelligence test based on reading aloud the words given on a card. Participants who have not had a routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain within the past year will also have a scan.
* Parts 3 and 4 (four visits): Participants will have a functional MRI scan while doing a learning task that may provide a small monetary reward. On the first visit, before the functional MRI, participants will take an intelligence test based on reading aloud the words given on a card. Participants who have not had a routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain within the past year will also have a scan.
* Part 5 (one visit): Participants will take an intelligence test based on reading aloud the words given on a card. Then, participants will have TMS followed by a functional MRI scan. During the functional MRI, participants will do a button-pressing task that may provide a small monetary reward.
* Participants will also be asked to provide a small blood sample for genetic analysis.

Conditions

  • Normal Physiology
  • fMRI

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    lead NIH

Principal Investigators

  • Eric M Wassermann, M.D. · National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
70 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2010-12-07
Completion
2017-06-23

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 NCT01260740 on ClinicalTrials.gov