Transcranial Stimulation (tDCS) and Prism Adaptation in Spatial Neglect Rehabilitation

Summary

The present study aims to compare the relative therapeutic efficacy of prism adaptation therapy combined with real versus sham tDCS. The investigators will test the hypothesis that the magnitude and duration of neglect improvement will be increased when prism therapy is combined with real tDCS compared to sham tDCS.

A second objective is to test whether individual differences in baseline clinical or brain imaging measures can predict: 1) neglect severity or 2) inter-individual differences in patients' therapeutic response.

A third goal is to use brain imaging to characterize the patterns of neural change induced by the intervention to identify brain structures that mediate therapeutic response.

Conditions

• Spatial Neglect
• Stroke
• Cerebrovascular Disorders
• Cerebral Infarction
• Brain Diseases

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Prism Adaptation

All participants will undergo prism adaptation, a form of behavioural therapy involving reaching and pointing movements while wearing glasses that induce an optical shift.

DEVICE

Anodal tDCS

Participants will receive 1mA anodal tDCS over the left primary motor cortex. The active (positive) electrode will be centered on the scalp overlying the primary motor cortex and the reference (negative) electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital ridge. The stimulation will last 20 minutes and run concurrent with the duration of the prism adaptation therapy.

DEVICE

Sham tDCS

Participants will receive 1mA sham tDCS over the left primary motor cortex. The active (positive) electrode will be centered on the scalp overlying the primary motor cortex and the reference (negative) electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital ridge. The stimulation will last 20 minutes and run concurrent with the duration of the prism adaptation therapy.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Oxford

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jacinta O'Shea, Dr · University of Oxford

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-02-28

Primary Completion

2018-05-31

Completion

2019-12-31

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations