Effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Object Recognition

Summary

Background:

\- The brain has natural rhythms called brain waves. An electroencephalogram (EEG) can record these rhythms. When people identify the picture of a familiar object shown on a computer screen, the communication between certain regions of the brain increases. An EEG can detect these communication brain waves. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can affect these brain waves by slightly changing the brain s rhythms. Researchers want to see if changing brain rhythms with TMS interferes with the ability to identify pictures of familiar objects. This study will provide more information about how TMS can affect brain waves and behavior.

Objectives:

\- To see if TMS can interfere with the brain s ability to identify pictures of familiar objects.

Eligibility:

\- Healthy volunteers between 18 and 70 years of age.

Design:

* This study requires two visits to the clinical center. The first visit will last about 2 hours. The second visit will last about 4 hours.
* Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history.
* At the first visit, participants will have an object recognition test. Participants will look at pictures of several objects on a computer screen. They will then have to state whether the objects they see on the screen are familiar. The object recognition test will be done along with TMS.
* At the second visit, participants will have an EEG while taking the object recognition test. Brain waves will be monitored during the test. They will then repeat the test while having repetitive TMS to study its effect on object recognition. The participants will then take the object recognition test alone for a final time. This will make sure that TMS effects (if any) on the ability to identify familiar object images are no longer present.

Conditions

• Repetitive TMS (rTMS)
• Sham rTMS
• Bilateral rTMS
• Unilateral rTMS

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Sham rTMS

PROCEDURE

Bilateral rTMS at same frequency and in phase

PROCEDURE

Bilateral rTMS at different frequencies

PROCEDURE

Bilateral rTMSat same frequency and out of phase

PROCEDURE

rTMS over TP8

PROCEDURE

rTMS over TP7

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

  lead NIH

Principal Investigators

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

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-11-16

Primary Completion

2017-01-26

Completion

2017-01-26

Countries

• United States

Study Locations