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Brain Stimulation for Foot-sole Sensation in Older Adults With Foot-sole Somatosensory Deficits

NCT06771531 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2026-04-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

In older adults, diminished sensation of the legs and feet is highly prevalent and causes poor balance and reduced mobility. This type of sensation is not only dependent upon the receptors and nerves in the legs and feet, but also upon a complex central nervous system pathway that includes the cerebral cortex of the brain. This project will use a form of noninvasive brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to test whether increasing the excitability of the brain networks that process sensory feedback can augment foot sole sensation, balance, and mobility in older adults suffering from mild-to-moderate foot sole sensory impairments.

Conditions

  • Somatosensory Function
  • Balance Control
  • Mobility

Interventions

DEVICE

transcranial direct current stimulation

tDCS can safely and selectively modulate cortical excitability (specifically neuronal firing likelihood) by transferring weak electrical currents between scalp electrodes. The direct current delivered by any one electrode will not exceed 2.0 mA and the total amount of current from all electrodes will not exceed 4 mA in this study.

DEVICE

active sham stimulation

sham stimulation will implement the same protocol of the tDCS intervention; however, only very low-level currents (no more than 0.5 mA) are transferred between the same electrodes used for the tDCS throughout the 20-minute session. This strategy effectively mimics the cutaneous sensations and skin redness induced by creating only micro cortical electric fields.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

    collaborator NIH

  • Hebrew SeniorLife

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-02-26
Primary Completion
2026-07-01
Completion
2026-12-31

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 NCT06771531 on ClinicalTrials.gov