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Enhancement of Therapeutic Learning in OCD Using tDCS

NCT03572543 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 26

Last updated 2022-02-17

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Psychiatric disorders characterized by pathological fear and anxiety are common and often disabling. Despite their limitations, exposure therapies are among the most efficacious treatments for these disorders. Extinction learning is thought to be a core mechanism of therapeutic exposure. Extinction learning is mediated by a well-defined circuit encompassing the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), amygdala, and hippocampus. This raises the exciting possibility that direct engagement of this circuitry might enhance the response to therapeutic exposure. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulation technology that can augment brain plasticity, learning, and memory. The proposed study will evaluate whether tDCS can improve therapeutic learning and memory processes among participants diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) This study aims to use tDCS to improve learning and memory processes within the context of an exposure laboratory challenge. Participants diagnosed with OCD will complete a two-day experimental study. On day 1, participants will receive sham (placebo) or active tDCS followed by approximately 50-minutes of individualized exposure. on day 2, participants will return to complete an additional 50-minutes of exposure. Subjective distress will be repeatedly monitored during exposure to allow for the modeling of within-trail and within-session learning and between-session recall of learning.

Conditions

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Interventions

DEVICE

tDCS

Subjects will receive 20 minutes of multifocal transcranial direct current stimulation. The anode will be placed over the frontal pole (Fpz, 10-20 EEG) and will be surrounded by 5 return electrodes (cathodes). Current will be set at 1.5mA and will be ramped in/out at the begging and end of the 20-minutes of stimulation over the course of 30 seconds.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

    collaborator NIH

  • Yale University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Thomas Adams, PhD · Yale University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
55 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-09-15
Primary Completion
2017-09-07
Completion
2017-09-07

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 NCT03572543 on ClinicalTrials.gov