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Individual Alpha Frequency-Based rTMS for Post-Stroke Motor Recovery: Efficacy and Neurophysiological Mechanisms

NCT07498777 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 34

Last updated 2026-03-27

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of a personalized brain stimulation technique, Individual Alpha Frequency (IAF)-based rTMS, for motor function recovery in adult patients with a first-ever ischemic stroke.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does IAF-based rTMS improve upper and lower limb motor recovery better than a sham (placebo) stimulation?
2. How does this personalized stimulation affect brain wave activity (cortical oscillatory dynamics) as measured by EEG?

Researchers will compare active IAF-based rTMS with a sham stimulation control in a crossover design to see if the active treatment leads to better clinical motor outcomes and beneficial changes in brain activity.

Participants will:

1. Be randomly assigned to one of two sequences: receiving two weeks of active IAF-rTMS followed by two weeks of sham stimulation, or vice versa.
2. Attend 30-minute brain stimulation sessions, targeted at the motor cortex, 5 days a week for a total of 4 weeks.
3. Undergo clinical motor function assessments (including NIHSS, FMA-UE, and FMA-LE) and EEG recordings at three time points: at baseline, after 2 weeks, and at the end of the 4-week study.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Active Individual Alpha Frequency-based Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (IAF-rTMS)

Participants will receive Individual Alpha Frequency (IAF)-guided repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeted at the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (M1). The stimulation frequency will be tailored to each participant's intrinsic IAF (ranging from 8 to 12 Hz). If the ipsilesional IAF is not available, the contralesional alpha frequency will be utilized. The stimulation intensity is set at 100% of the resting motor threshold (RMT). The protocol consists of a 2.5-second train duration followed by a 10-second inter-train interval. Each daily session lasts for 30 minutes, delivering a total of 2,880 to 4,320 magnetic pulses per session.

DEVICE

Sham Individual Alpha Frequency-based Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (IAF-rTMS)

Participants will receive sham rTMS using the identical device and stimulation parameters (100% RMT intensity, 2.5-second train, 10-second interval, 30-minute session duration) targeted at the same anatomical site (ipsilesional M1). To achieve the sham condition, the stimulation coil will be tilted at a 90-degree angle (one-wing 90° method) away from the scalp. This specific coil placement produces the same acoustic click and similar somatic sensations as the active treatment, while preventing the magnetic field from directly penetrating and stimulating the cerebral cortex

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Taiwan University Hospital

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-04-01
Primary Completion
2027-12-30
Completion
2028-03-31

Countries

  • Taiwan

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

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 NCT07498777 on ClinicalTrials.gov