Non Invasive Brain Stimulation Effects on Attentional Performance in ADHD Adults

NCT ID: NCT02286349

Last Updated: 2020-05-06

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 12 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2014-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2015-12-31

Brief Summary

This study aims to evaluate the effect of noninvasive brain stimulation in adults with ADHD symptomatology compared them with healthy adults. For this, volunteers will allocate into two groups (experimental and control), will pass through session two types of transcranial stimulation: Repetitive Transcranial MagneticsStimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); considering two session types (real and sham). Attentional assessment will be carried out through specific neurocognitive tests applied before and after each session of stimulation

Detailed Description

The sample will be divided into four groups: (i) Experimental tDCS; (ii) Experimental rTMS; (iii) tDCS control; and rTMS control. The experimental groups consisted of subjects with ADHD symptomatology. Control groups were formed by healthy individuals.

The subject will be considered healthy when there was no diagnosis of any DSM-IV psychiatric disorder and had symptoms with ADHD when there were frequent presence of at least six symptoms of inattention and / or symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity described by the Adult Self Report Scale (ASRS), a reliable tool for diagnosis of attention deficit / hyperactivity and validated for the Brazilian population.

Both groups underwent two sessions of cortical stimulation: real (rTMS or tDCS) and sham. The order of sessions will be randomized and there will be a minimum interval of at last one week between sessions.

Experimental Sessions

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) With the individual seated comfortable, rTMS will be applied through a magnetic stimulator (Neurosoft®) using a figure-8 coil, positioned on the scalp at an angle of 45 degrees from the midline and pointing toward the anterior region of the skull.

The area stimulated will be the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Before applying rTMS over the DLPFC will be necessary to map the area of the representation of the FID by applying single pulses to measure the motor evoked potential (MEP) and resting motor threshold (RMT). The intensity adopted in real rTMS session will be 80% of the RMT. rTMS will be applied in just one session divided in to 5 blocks of stimulation. Each block will be separated by 5 minutes intervals. In each block 15 rTMS series of 1-second duration at 10 Hz frequency were applied. The interval between sets will be 10 seconds. The sham stimulation will be applied with the same settings real rTMS, but the coil will be not coupled to the magnetic stimulator, so the individual will be not able to differentiate the real session of sham.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Individuals will be instructed to sit in a chair and get a comfortable position. The continuous electrical current will be applied through a microcurrent stimulator (Soterix, USA). The surface electrodes used in all sessions of this study have dimensions of 5x7cm (35 cm2), were composed of electrically conductive rubber and wrapped in sponges soaked in saline.

For the application of tDCS, the anode will be positioned on DLPFC and cathode in the contralateral supraorbital region. Parameters of intensity and stimulation duration of the current used were previously established in humans: intensity 1mA and duration of 10 minutes. In sham stimulation, sessions will use the same procedures of real tDCS application, however the stimulation device will be switched off five seconds after the start.

Outcome measures - The subjects will be submitted an evaluation before (t0) the application of non-invasive cortical stimulation (active and sham) and immediately after (t1). These assessments consisted of neurocognitive tests that assess cognitive function and attention span of the patients. The tests will be applied (i) Trail Making Test (part A and B); (ii) digit span (forward and reverse order); (iii) digit symbol; (iv) C; (v) D2. Thus, the following items were assessed: (i) attentional focus (digit symbol, AC and trail making-part A); (ii) maintaining the attentional focus (D2 test); (iii) attentional span (digit span forward); (iv) the ability of mental manipulation (digit span backward and trail making test- part B); (v) ability to resist interference (D2 test).

Neuropsychological assessment will be performed by a neuropsychology, blind to the type of experimental session (rTMS / or active tDCS / sham) to which the subject was submitted.

Conditions

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

Real rTMS group

Submitted to 20 minutes of neuropsychological assessment (on average) + 5 blocks of real stimulation intensity of 10 Hz, each block containing 15 series of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation with 1 second duration and presenting interval of 10 seconds between sets + 20 minutes of neuropsychological reassessment (on average).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (Neurosoft®)

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

Sham rTMS group

Submitted to 20 minutes of neuropsychological assessment (on average) + 5 stimulation sham blocks, each block containing 15 series of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation with 1 second duration and presenting interval of 10 seconds between sets + 20 minutes of neuropsychological reassessment (on average)

Group Type: SHAM_COMPARATOR

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (Neurosoft®)

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

Real tDCS group

Submitted to 20 minutes of neuropsychological assessment (on average) + 10 minutes of real anodal transcranial direct current stimulation with intensity of 1 mA + 20 minutes of neuropsychological reassessment (on average).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Transcranial direct current stimulation (Soterix, USA)

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Transcranial direct current stimulation

Sham tDCS group

Submitted to 20 minutes of neuropsychological assessment (on average) + 10 minutes of sham transcranial direct current stimulation + 20 minutes of neuropsychological reassessment (on average)

Group Type: SHAM_COMPARATOR

Transcranial direct current stimulation (Soterix, USA)

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Transcranial direct current stimulation

Interventions

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (Neurosoft®)

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Transcranial direct current stimulation (Soterix, USA)

Transcranial direct current stimulation

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Experimental group Punctuate 6 items or more (in the "frequently" and / or "quite often" on the Adult Self Report Scale (ASRS-18).

• Control group Punctuate fewer than six items (in the "frequently" and / or "quite often" on Adult Self Report Scale (ASRS-18) Not exhibit symptoms of other disorders measured by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I).

Exclusion Criteria

• epilepsy;
• neurosurgery (including implant metal clips);
• head trauma;
• implantation of a pacemaker;
• current use of epileptogenic drugs;
• uncontrolled severe organic disease.
• pregnancy.
• current use of psychostimulant

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 50 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Kátia Monte-Silva

PHD

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Kátia Monte-Silva, PHD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Applied Neuroscience Laboratory, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Other Identifiers

ADHD_ brain stimulation_adults

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id