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Effect of the Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on the Dopaminergic Transmission in Healthy Subjects

NCT02402101 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE3 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 36

Last updated 2016-08-23

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique that is emerging as a prospective therapy for neurologic, psychiatric and addictive disorders. Specifically, anodal tDCS applied over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is associated with improvement of cognitive functions and mood. Despite an increased use in clinical settings, tDCS suffers from limitations, especially regarding the strength and the duration of therapeutic effects. Strategies to optimize the conditions for tDCS application suffer from the lack of knowledge about its neurophysiological impact. Moreover, tDCS is increasingly used in private settings through commercial apparatus and tutorials to make a "do-it-yourself" device delivering tDCS now available on the Internet. This private use worries neuroscientists and health authorities. Even if the general impression is that, in controlled conditions, tDCS is safe with only mild and transient adverse effects, whether and how tDCS could be used for enhancing cognition in healthy subjects are needed to investigate in more detail. The investigators believe that a better understanding of some neurobiological effects of tDCS is crucial to further tailor tDCS for experimental and therapeutic applications and to define recommendations for a private use.

As the cortex is densely connected with basal ganglia areas, including dopaminergic areas, tDCS is probably not only capable to target cortical but also subcortical structures remote from the stimulation sites. Some studies suggest that cortical stimulation by other approaches, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) leads to an increased dopaminergic transmission. The involvement of dopaminergic systems in tDCS effects has been investigated only indirectly in pharmacological studies. Thus, the direct effect of the DLPFC stimulation by tDCS on dopaminergic transmission is still unknown.

The aim of this project is to reveal the online impact of a single-session of tDCS applied bilaterally over the DLPFC in healthy subjects on the dopaminergic transmission measured by PET, combined with the \[11C\]raclopride bolus-plus-continuous-infusion method.

Conditions

  • Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
  • Dopamine

Interventions

DEVICE

Procedure: active tDCS

Intensity 2 mA during 20 minutes

DEVICE

Procedure: sham tDCS

sham condition as delivered by the stimulator

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Hôpital le Vinatier

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Frederic Haesebaert, PH · CH Le Vinatier

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-02-28
Primary Completion
2016-08-31
Completion
2016-08-31

Countries

  • France

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 NCT02402101 on ClinicalTrials.gov