Transcranial Stimulation (tDCS) and Prism Adaptation in Spatial Neglect Rehabilitation

NCT ID: NCT02080286

Last Updated: 2017-10-11

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

40 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-02-28

Study Completion Date

2019-12-31

Brief Summary

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The present study aims to compare the relative therapeutic efficacy of prism adaptation therapy combined with real versus sham tDCS. The investigators will test the hypothesis that the magnitude and duration of neglect improvement will be increased when prism therapy is combined with real tDCS compared to sham tDCS.

A second objective is to test whether individual differences in baseline clinical or brain imaging measures can predict: 1) neglect severity or 2) inter-individual differences in patients' therapeutic response.

A third goal is to use brain imaging to characterize the patterns of neural change induced by the intervention to identify brain structures that mediate therapeutic response.

Detailed Description

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'Neglect' is a common neurological syndrome that affects approximately 50% of right-hemisphere stroke patients. It is a complex multi-faceted syndrome, but its core defining feature is that patients lose the capacity to voluntarily control attention in the left half of space. Neglect has a significant debilitating effect on patients' functional independence and everyday life and indicates a poor prognosis for long-term functional recovery.

To date, there is no effective rehabilitation intervention available for routine clinical use. One of the most promising experimental strategies for neglect rehabilitation is prism adaptation, a form of motor training that induces short-lived improvements in a variety of cognitive domains. However, its major limitation is that the benefits are transient. The investigators aim to test the hypothesis that by combining prism therapy with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), this will boost learning/memory processes, resulting in larger and longer-lasting therapeutic effects.

The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled clinical trial to test the efficacy of multi-session prism therapy combined with real versus sham tDCS for the rehabilitation of chronic post-stroke neglect. Baseline neuroimaging data will be used as predictor variables to explain inter-individual variation in therapeutic response. Contrasts between pre- and post-intervention imaging data will be performed to identify neural structures that mediate therapeutic effects.

Conditions

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Spatial Neglect Stroke Cerebrovascular Disorders Cerebral Infarction Brain Diseases

Keywords

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spatial neglect rehabilitation brain stimulation tDCS prism adaptation

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators

Study Groups

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Prism adaptation + anodal tDCS

Participants will receive 1 milliamp (mA) anodal tDCS over the left primary motor cortex concurrent with a 20-minute session of prism adaptation.

They will undergo 5 consecutive daily sessions.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Prism Adaptation

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

All participants will undergo prism adaptation, a form of behavioural therapy involving reaching and pointing movements while wearing glasses that induce an optical shift.

Anodal tDCS

Intervention Type DEVICE

Participants will receive 1mA anodal tDCS over the left primary motor cortex. The active (positive) electrode will be centered on the scalp overlying the primary motor cortex and the reference (negative) electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital ridge.

The stimulation will last 20 minutes and run concurrent with the duration of the prism adaptation therapy.

Prism Adaptation + Sham tDCS

Participants will receive Sham tDCS over the left primary motor cortex concurrent with a 20-minute session of prism adaptation.

They will undergo 5 consecutive daily sessions.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Prism Adaptation

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

All participants will undergo prism adaptation, a form of behavioural therapy involving reaching and pointing movements while wearing glasses that induce an optical shift.

Sham tDCS

Intervention Type DEVICE

Participants will receive 1mA sham tDCS over the left primary motor cortex. The active (positive) electrode will be centered on the scalp overlying the primary motor cortex and the reference (negative) electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital ridge.

The stimulation will last 20 minutes and run concurrent with the duration of the prism adaptation therapy.

Prism adaptation + no tDCS

Participants will receive no tDCS at all but will undergo a 20-minute session of prism adaptation.

They will undergo 5 consecutive daily sessions.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Prism Adaptation

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

All participants will undergo prism adaptation, a form of behavioural therapy involving reaching and pointing movements while wearing glasses that induce an optical shift.

Interventions

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Prism Adaptation

All participants will undergo prism adaptation, a form of behavioural therapy involving reaching and pointing movements while wearing glasses that induce an optical shift.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Anodal tDCS

Participants will receive 1mA anodal tDCS over the left primary motor cortex. The active (positive) electrode will be centered on the scalp overlying the primary motor cortex and the reference (negative) electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital ridge.

The stimulation will last 20 minutes and run concurrent with the duration of the prism adaptation therapy.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Sham tDCS

Participants will receive 1mA sham tDCS over the left primary motor cortex. The active (positive) electrode will be centered on the scalp overlying the primary motor cortex and the reference (negative) electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital ridge.

The stimulation will last 20 minutes and run concurrent with the duration of the prism adaptation therapy.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study.
* Male or Female, aged 18-85
* At least one month post ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke or brain damage to the right hemisphere
* Diagnosis of neglect confirmed by evidence of neglect on at least one of the tests in the battery of neglect tests administered during the Recruitment Interview

Absolute contraindications to participation in any part of the study:

* Anyone who does not have adequate understanding of English, sufficient to give informed consent
* Limited verbal communication in the form of dysphasia
* Any person who has a history of drug abuse as the data collected may be influenced by their condition
* Any person who has a history of dementia or any other psychiatric illness as the data collected may be influenced by their condition

Absolute contraindications to participation in the tDCS part of the study:

* Anyone who has a previous personal history of epilepsy, seizures, febrile convulsions as a child or recurrent fainting fits will be excluded from the tDCS part of the study
* Any metallic implant in the neck, head, or eye that is situated within the path of the tDCS current, and anyone with any implanted electrical devices, would be excluded as there is a risk of heating with tDCS
* Pregnant women are excluded as a precaution as there are no data on the effect on maternal tDCS or MRI on the foetus

Absolute contraindications to participation in the MRI part of the study:

* People who suffer from claustrophobia will be excluded from the MRI part of the study if they state they are unable to tolerate the scanner environment
* Anyone with a metal implant or implantable device that is found to be unsafe or unknown for MRI following investigations by named researchers and staff radiographers would be excluded.
* Pregnant women are excluded as a precaution as there are no data on the effect on maternal tDCS or MRI on the foetus

Potential contraindications to participation in the tDCS part of the study:

* Participants on some prescription medications such as anti-depressants or pain medication may be excluded as they may be at an increased risk of seizure
* Individuals who have a family history of epilepsy or seizure may be excluded as this may increase the individual's personal risk of susceptibility to seizures

Potential contraindications to participation in the MRI part of the study:

• An individual with a previous history of a surgical procedure may be excluded, depending on whether a metallic implant was used in their operation and whether the MRI-safety status of the implanted materials can be adequately assessed after requesting the medical/surgical notes (with patient consent) and/or post-surgical imaging and consulting with the staff radiographers who are legally responsible for determining participant safety in advance of any scanning.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

85 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Oxford

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Jacinta O'Shea, Dr

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Oxford

Locations

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FMRIB Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford

Oxford, , United Kingdom

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United Kingdom

Central Contacts

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Jacinta O'Shea, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +44 (0)1865 611455

Email: [email protected]

Thomas Smejka

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +44 (0)1865 611461

Facility Contacts

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Jacinta O'Shea, PhD

Role: primary

Susan Field

Role: backup

References

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Elsner B, Kugler J, Pohl M, Mehrholz J. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning, in people after stroke. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Nov 11;11(11):CD009645. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009645.pub4.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 33175411 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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12/sc/0556

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id