Brain Connections for Arm Movement After Stroke

NCT ID: NCT04286516

Last Updated: 2025-06-13

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

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

76 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-01-10

Study Completion Date

2027-06-01

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this study is to use Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) while subjects are making reaching movements in a robotic arm device in order to discover how different brain areas control movement before and after stroke and when these brain areas are most sensitive to TMS.

Detailed Description

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The general objective of this application is to study reorganization of network interactions following a common type of subcortical stroke (i.e. internal capsule) with mechanistic studies using noninvasive neurophysiology in humans. The goal is to obtain pilot data and to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach that combines transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with reaching in an advanced exoskeleton robot. As reaching is an essential part of many daily activities, this approach will have beneficial impacts on the quality of life of these stroke patients.

The central hypothesis is that bilateral premotor cortical areas, dorsal (PMd) more so than ventral (PMv,) develops greater connectivity with primary motor cortex (M1) after stroke and thus better ability to produce motor outputs that support reaching with the paretic arm. When there is more damage to the corticospinal tract, contralesional areas will take on a greater role.

The relationship between connectivity, behavioral effects of stimulation and motor performance will be established. These findings will allow the investigators to formulate clear hypotheses about which premotor area should be modulated with TMS, depending on stroke extent and deficits in motor control, when reaching the stage of proposing a treatment trial. Increased knowledge of the dynamic changes of physiological interactions during various phases of reaching movements will allow a more defined study regarding the role of premotor areas in recovery of motor function after stroke, and a novel treatment protocol that delivers precisely timed stimulations during practice of reaching movements. Ultimately, the investigators can test these novel treatments in clinical trials and compare their impact to other, less specific, neuromodulatory methods such as transcranial direct current stimulation. This study will also lay the groundwork for collaboration in brain computer interface and non-human primate investigations in the mechanisms and treatment of motor deficits after stroke.

Conditions

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Stroke Brain Disease Central Nervous System Diseases Nervous System Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Controlled, nonrandomized experimental study
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Reaching with TMS

All participants enrolled in this group will receive TMS while performing reaching movements in a robotic system.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Intervention Type DEVICE

Paired pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation

Interventions

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Paired pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Be 45-90 years of age
* Have adequate language and neurocognitive function to participate in training and testing
* Be medically stable to participate in the study
* Be English speaking


* Be 45-90 years of age
* Clinically defined, unilateral, hemiparetic stroke with radiologic exclusion of other possible diagnosis
* Stroke onset at least 6 months before enrollment
* Subcortical stroke (ex: internal capsule, deep white matter of posterior frontal lobe)
* Present with mild to moderate arm dysfunction
* Be medically stable to participate in the study
* Be English speaking

Exclusion Criteria

(for both groups)

* Unable to give informed consent
* Have a serious complicating medical illness that would preclude participation
* Contractures or orthopedic problems limiting range of joint motion in the potential study arm or other impairments that would interfere with the study activities
* Visual loss such that the subject would not be able to see the test patterns on the robot computer monitor
* Unable to comply with requirements of the study
* Enrollment in another greater-than-minimal risk study
* Presence of medical condition or implant that prevents safe administration of TMS or MRI
* Pregnancy
Minimum Eligible Age

45 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

90 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Pittsburgh

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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George F. Wittenberg, MD PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA

Locations

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VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Amy Boos

Role: CONTACT

(412) 648-4179

George F Wittenberg, MD PhD

Role: CONTACT

(412) 360-6185

Facility Contacts

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George F Wittenberg, MD PhD

Role: primary

412-360-6185

Amy Boos

Role: backup

(412) 648-4179

References

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Johansen-Berg H, Rushworth MF, Bogdanovic MD, Kischka U, Wimalaratna S, Matthews PM. The role of ipsilateral premotor cortex in hand movement after stroke. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Oct 29;99(22):14518-23. doi: 10.1073/pnas.222536799. Epub 2002 Oct 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12376621 (View on PubMed)

Butefisch CM, Kleiser R, Korber B, Muller K, Wittsack HJ, Homberg V, Seitz RJ. Recruitment of contralesional motor cortex in stroke patients with recovery of hand function. Neurology. 2005 Mar 22;64(6):1067-9. doi: 10.1212/01.WNL.0000154603.48446.36.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15781831 (View on PubMed)

Corbett D, Carmichael ST, Murphy TH, Jones TA, Schwab ME, Jolkkonen J, Clarkson AN, Dancause N, Weiloch T, Johansen-Berg H, Nilsson M, McCullough LD, Joy MT. Enhancing the Alignment of the Preclinical and Clinical Stroke Recovery Research Pipeline: Consensus-Based Core Recommendations From the Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable Translational Working Group. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2017 Aug;31(8):699-707. doi: 10.1177/1545968317724285.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28803530 (View on PubMed)

Nudo RJ, Wise BM, SiFuentes F, Milliken GW. Neural substrates for the effects of rehabilitative training on motor recovery after ischemic infarct. Science. 1996 Jun 21;272(5269):1791-4. doi: 10.1126/science.272.5269.1791.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8650578 (View on PubMed)

Frost SB, Barbay S, Friel KM, Plautz EJ, Nudo RJ. Reorganization of remote cortical regions after ischemic brain injury: a potential substrate for stroke recovery. J Neurophysiol. 2003 Jun;89(6):3205-14. doi: 10.1152/jn.01143.2002.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12783955 (View on PubMed)

Dancause N, Barbay S, Frost SB, Zoubina EV, Plautz EJ, Mahnken JD, Nudo RJ. Effects of small ischemic lesions in the primary motor cortex on neurophysiological organization in ventral premotor cortex. J Neurophysiol. 2006 Dec;96(6):3506-11. doi: 10.1152/jn.00792.2006. Epub 2006 Sep 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16987930 (View on PubMed)

Dancause N, Barbay S, Frost SB, Plautz EJ, Chen D, Zoubina EV, Stowe AM, Nudo RJ. Extensive cortical rewiring after brain injury. J Neurosci. 2005 Nov 2;25(44):10167-79. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3256-05.2005.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16267224 (View on PubMed)

Quessy S, Cote SL, Hamadjida A, Deffeyes J, Dancause N. Modulatory Effects of the Ipsi and Contralateral Ventral Premotor Cortex (PMv) on the Primary Motor Cortex (M1) Outputs to Intrinsic Hand and Forearm Muscles in Cebus apella. Cereb Cortex. 2016 Oct;26(10):3905-20. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhw186. Epub 2016 Jul 29.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27473318 (View on PubMed)

Kurata K. Premotor cortex of monkeys: set- and movement-related activity reflecting amplitude and direction of wrist movements. J Neurophysiol. 1993 Jan;69(1):187-200. doi: 10.1152/jn.1993.69.1.187.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8433130 (View on PubMed)

Davare M, Duque J, Vandermeeren Y, Thonnard JL, Olivier E. Role of the ipsilateral primary motor cortex in controlling the timing of hand muscle recruitment. Cereb Cortex. 2007 Feb;17(2):353-62. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhj152. Epub 2006 Mar 8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16525129 (View on PubMed)

Weiller C, Ramsay SC, Wise RJ, Friston KJ, Frackowiak RS. Individual patterns of functional reorganization in the human cerebral cortex after capsular infarction. Ann Neurol. 1993 Feb;33(2):181-9. doi: 10.1002/ana.410330208.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8434880 (View on PubMed)

Wittenberg GF, Richards LG, Jones-Lush LM, Roys SR, Gullapalli RP, Yang S, Guarino PD, Lo AC. Predictors and brain connectivity changes associated with arm motor function improvement from intensive practice in chronic stroke. F1000Res. 2016 Aug 31;5:2119. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.8603.2. eCollection 2016.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28357039 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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Pro00003163

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

N3511-R

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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