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The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cognitive Side Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy

NCT02897843 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 32

Last updated 2019-05-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for a variety of psychiatric disorders. However, despite continued advances in ECT technique, neurocognitive dysfunction continues to be a frequent adverse effect. Declarative memory and less so selective memory are often impaired after an ECT course. Immediate memory, however, is broadly preserved. It is hypothesized that memory impairments are due to ECT induced disruptions on long term potentiation as well as in cerebral flux and glutamatergic and cholinergic systems. Different pharmacological agents for the treatment of ECT induced cognitive dysfunction have been tried. Agents such as opioids, vasopressin, neuropeptides, cholinergic agents, thyroid hormone, and stimulants have been used with equivocal results, and no controlled studies showed clear efficacy.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive, painless brain stimulation treatment that uses direct electrical currents to stimulate specific parts of the brain. Electrical currents are applied constantly at low intensities (1-2 mA) over a long period, usually in minutes (5-30 minutes), to achieve changes in cortical excitability by influencing spontaneous neural activity. There are two types of stimulation with tDCS: anodal and cathodal stimulation. Anodal stimulation acts to excite neuronal activity while cathodal stimulation inhibits or reduces neuronal activity. Several studies demonstrated moderate to strong effect sizes of tDCS in various neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric settings. Majority of studies show positive effects of tDCS on cognitive functioning among healthy volunteers and subjects with neurological or psychiatric conditions. Beneficial effects of online stimulation applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex have been reported for working memory, attention and information processing in depressed patients. To the investigators' knowledge no studies have evaluated the potential efficacy of tDCS for the prevention of ECT induced cognitive adverse effects.

In the current study, the investigators propose a double blind, randomized controlled trial to test the use of tDCS as a strategy to prevent or mitigate the memory impairments frequently associated with an ECT course.

Conditions

  • Depressive Disorder

Interventions

DEVICE

transcranial magnetic stimulation

tDCS stimulation will involve ten 20 minute stimulations daily, characterized by 2 milliamps (mA) anode over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), with the cathode placed over the right suborbital region.

DEVICE

sham tDCS

sham tDCS

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Northwell Health

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Raphael Braga, MD · Northwell Health

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2017-02-16
Primary Completion
2018-10-11
Completion
2019-04-19

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 NCT02897843 on ClinicalTrials.gov