Effects of tDCS on Social Cognition in Aging

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

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

90 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-08-01

Study Completion Date

2022-05-31

Brief Summary

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The aim of the study is to explore the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on either the right tempo-parietal junction (rTPJ) or the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in healthy older adults (replication in a different sample of a study by Martin et al., 2020).

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Detailed Description

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Humans are fundamentally social animals. The ability to operate within large social networks requires considerable cognitive capacity, often referred to as social cognition. One social cognitive process thought to involve embodied and nonembodied processes is perspective-taking. Recently, the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) has been suggested as a key hub for embodied processing relevant to social cognition. A study of Martin et al. (2020) could further provide causal evidence that the right temporoparietal junction is involved specifically in the embodied component of perspective-taking. Specifically, HD-tDCS (high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation) to the right temporoparietal junction, but not another hub of the social brain (dorsomedial PFC), increased the effect of body position during perspective-taking, but not tracking. As social cognition is affected by the aging process and decline of socio-cognitive abilities is a key feature of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, the aim of the present study is to replicate the findings of Martin et al., (2020) in a sample of healthy older adults to better understand the modulation of socio-cognitive processes in older age.

The aim of the study is to explore the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on either the right tempo-parietal junction (rTPJ) or the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in healthy older adults (replication in a different sample of a study by Martin et al., 2020). 60 healthy older adults and 30 younger participants (serving as a control group) will be tested in a Reading the Eyes in the Mind Task (RMET) and a Task of Visual Perspective Taking (VPT) , while stimulation either the rTPJ or the dmPFC with either active or sham tDCS (stimulation only in the group of older participants). In the RMET the expectation is that older participants have higher reaction times after correct answers under rTPJ tDCS. No stimulation effects of the dmPFC are expected. In the VPT older participants are expected to have a selective effect on body position (similar to the results of Martin et al., 2020) under rTPJ stimulation, but not dmPFC stimulation.

A further focus of the study is how functional and structural connectivity of the brain and individual differences measured with an MRI assessment influence with the success of the RMET and VPT paradigms in an explorative research question.

Conditions

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Aging Social Cognition

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

It is a randomized, balanced cross-over design with within- as well as between group comparisons. Two groups will be investigate: young participants (n = 30) and older participants (n = 60). The group of young participants will serve as a control group and will only get a neuropsychological assessment of their cognitive abilities at the beginning of the study, an MRI assessment and one session of the investigated paradigms (without tDCS). The group of older participants will conduct a session of MRI assessment and neuropsychological assessment, as well as two tDCS sessions (anodal/sham). The stimulation will either be over the rTPJ or the dmPFC. This set-up is identical to the study of Martin et al., (2020).

Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors

Participants will receive either an active or a sham tDCS stimulation. Sham stimulation will use a ramp-up, so that participants are not able to tell whether they are stimulated or not, if they are tDCS naive.

Sham or active tDCS is applied via codes. Principal Investigators are blinded for these codes.

Study Groups

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dmPFC tDCS + Social Cognition tasks in older participants

Participants will receive either active or sham stimulation over the dmPFC while conducting two different social cognition paradigms: one regarding emotion recognition, one on visual perspective taking.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Social Cognition Task

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Two paradigms will be tested: visual perspective taking and reading the mind in the eyes.

tDCS

Intervention Type DEVICE

tDCS either over the dmPFC or the rTPJ.

rTPJ tDCS + Social Cognition tasks in older participants

Participants will receive either active or sham stimulation over the rTPJ while conducting two different social cognition paradigms: one regarding emotion recognition, one on visual perspective taking.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Social Cognition Task

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Two paradigms will be tested: visual perspective taking and reading the mind in the eyes.

tDCS

Intervention Type DEVICE

tDCS either over the dmPFC or the rTPJ.

Social cognition tasks in younger participants

Participants will conduct two different social cognition paradigms: one regarding emotion recognition, one on visual perspective taking but without tDCS stimulation.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Social Cognition Task

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Two paradigms will be tested: visual perspective taking and reading the mind in the eyes.

Interventions

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Social Cognition Task

Two paradigms will be tested: visual perspective taking and reading the mind in the eyes.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

tDCS

tDCS either over the dmPFC or the rTPJ.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* healthy older (60 - 80 years) and younger (18 - 30 years) participants
* German as their main language or sufficient german skills to understand the experiment and the task