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Posture Training and Cerebellar Stimulation in Elderly People

NCT04154397 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 100

Last updated 2019-11-06

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Motor learning relies on both feedback and feedforward mechanisms to keep progressive optimization of motor behaviors in a coordinated manner. Error correction based on the fronto-parietal loop is subject to error information inherent within visual feedback. On the other hand, cerebellar activity for restoration of efferent copy involves in operation of feedforward mechanism. Therefore, the amount of error feedback and excitation of cerebellum are keyed to effectiveness of motor learning. Although postural training is of empirical value to prevent falling from the elderly, yet none of previous studies have ever been devoted to improve effectiveness of postural training via manipulations of visual error feedback and cerebellar stimulation.

From the aspect of cognition-motor interaction, the present proposal is a three-year project intended to promote effectiveness of postural training for the elderly. In the first year, feedback-based training benefits from a dynamic postural task under the conditions of different visual size of error feedback (error-reducing feedback, error-enhancing feedback, and fixed error feedback) will be contrasted. In the second year, feedforward-based training benefits from a dynamic postural task by application of cerebellum transcranial electrical stimulation (ctDCS) of different modes (direct current vs. noise vs. sham) will be contrasted. In the third year, the proposal will examine whether postural training with combined approach (error-enhancing feedback and ctDCS) could result in a superior training benefit to those of error-enhancing feedback alone and ctDCS alone approaches. In addition to innovative training intervention, this proposal will make use of current non-linear analyses on EEG signals and postural sway with graph analysis and heading analysis, respectively. It is expected to gain additional insight into behavior and brain mechanisms underlying learning-related changes with the postural training, potentially lending to a more effective training paradigm for postural stability of the elderly.

Conditions

  • Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

Interventions

DEVICE

cerebellar transcranial stimulation

Feedforward-based training benefits from a dynamic postural task by application of cerebellum transcranial electrical stimulation (ctDCS) of different modes (direct current vs. noise vs. sham) were administered using a one-channel direct current stimulator (NeuroConn DC-Stimulator PlusTM) with study mode enabled for single blinding. Following the baseline trial of posture tracking, participants of three groups were seated in a chair for 20 min to receive either active or sham cerebellar tDCS prior to the posture tracking and transfer test phases.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Cheng-Kung University Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Hwang Ing-Shiou, Phd · NCKU, Institute of Allied Health Sciences

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
60 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-05-20
Primary Completion
2019-01-24
Completion
2019-09-30

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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 NCT04154397 on ClinicalTrials.gov