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Probing TBS-induced Neural Plasticity and Associated Effects on Learning

NCT03756584 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 75

Last updated 2021-08-17

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Recent animal research indicates that excitatory brain stimulation opens a time window of increased neural plasticity that permits remodeling of neural representations. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may thus facilitate learning of new associations by reducing proactive interference but human research is missing. Therefore, it is the aim of this study to investigate the effects of intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), a potent form of excitatory brain stimulation, on associative memory. Twenty right handed healthy participants will receive 3 minutes of iTBS or sham stimulation of the left lateral parietal cortex after memorizing a set of 20 face-word associations. Recall capacity will be tested directly before and after stimulation. Participants will then learn a new combination of associations using the same set of stimuli, followed by an evaluation of their recall capacity. It is hypothesized that iTBS compared to sham stimulation will reduce recall capacity directly after the stimulation but increase recall capacity of the newly learned associations due to reduced proactive interference. This study may not only pave the way towards a new understanding of the mechanism of action of brain stimulation, but can also help in developing new treatment strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Interventions

DEVICE

Theta-burst stimulation

iTBS comprises 3-pulse 50-Hz bursts, applied every 200 ms (at 5 Hz) as described previously (Huang, Edwards et al. 2005) and consists of 2-second trains with an inter-train-interval of 8 seconds. We will repeat trains (30 pulses; 10 bursts) for 20 times to reach a total number of 600 pulses per session (3x10x20)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Dr Georg Kranz

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Georg S Kranz, PhD · Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-03-03
Primary Completion
2020-12-03
Completion
2020-12-03

Countries

  • Hong Kong

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 NCT03756584 on ClinicalTrials.gov