Effects of t-DCS and Cognitive Training on Apathy in Elderly With Minor Neurocognitive Impairment

NCT ID: NCT05232877

Last Updated: 2025-11-26

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

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

27 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-04-05

Study Completion Date

2026-06-10

Brief Summary

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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique using a low intensity electric current to modify cortical excitability. Apathy is a pervasive neuropsychiatric symptom characterized by a reduction in goal-directed behavior and activity that persists over time and causes identifiable functional impairment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of repeated sessions of tDCS combined with simultaneous cognitive training on apathy in older people with minor neurocognitive disorders.

Detailed Description

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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique using a low intensity electric current to modify cortical excitability. There is growing interest for tDCS for psychiatric illnesses, notably for depression.

Apathy is a pervasive neuropsychiatric symptom characterized by a reduction in goal-directed behavior and activity that persists over time and causes identifiable functional impairment. tDCS could be a promising new area for non-pharmacological treatment of apathy.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of repeated sessions of tDCS combined with simultaneous cognitive training on apathy in older people with minor neurocognitive disorders. For this, 30 apathetic subjects with minor neurocognitive disorders will be included and randomized between two groups. The intervention group will follow sessions of tDCS combined with a simultaneous cognitive training on tablet. The control group will follow cognitive training with a combined sham tDCS. Intervention will last for 4-week with 3 sessions per week (12 sessions). Stimulation will be performed with Startim 20 (Neuroelectrics®) which is approved by the European Union as a Class IIa medical device and meeting European safety standards. Stimulation will last for 20 minutes and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) will be targeted. For the intervention group, the electric current will be 2mA. Assessments will be done at baseline, just after the end of intervention and 3 months after intervention. Apathy, daily functional motor behaviors, cognitive functions and fatigue will be assessed with clinician assessment, self-administered questionnaires, ambulatory actigraphy and cognitive tests. The assessments and the intervention will be done by different people. Study will be a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Conditions

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Apathy Neurocognitive Disorders

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

The intervention group will follow sessions of tDCS combined with a simultaneous cognitive training on tablet.

he control group will follow cognitive training with a combined sham tDCS. Intervention will last for 4-week with 3 sessions per week (12 sessions).
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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tDCS combined with simultaneous cognitive training

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

tDCS

Intervention Type OTHER

The intervention group will follow sessions of tDCS combined with a simultaneous cognitive training on tablet

cognitive training with a combined sham tDCS

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

SHAM tDCS

Intervention Type OTHER

The control group will follow cognitive training with a combined sham tDCS. Intervention will last for 4-week with 3 sessions per week (12 sessions).

Interventions

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SHAM tDCS

The control group will follow cognitive training with a combined sham tDCS. Intervention will last for 4-week with 3 sessions per week (12 sessions).

Intervention Type OTHER

tDCS

The intervention group will follow sessions of tDCS combined with a simultaneous cognitive training on tablet

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Age ≥ 65 years
* Subject consulting in one of the investigating centers
* Clinical diagnosis of Minor Neurocognitive Disorder according to DSM 5 criteria (APA, 2013)
* Apathetic syndrome defined according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Apathy (Miller \& al., 2021)
* Subject who can read and write French
* Subjects who are beneficiaries of a social security plan
* Signature of free and informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Current clinical diagnosis of a depressive episode characterized by DSM 5 criteria (APA, 2013)
* Known diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse or dependence
* Significant sensory or motor impairment
* Subject under guardianship, conservatorship, or conservatorship
* Active smoking or smoking cessation of less than one year
* Contraindications to the practice of tDCS: history of intracranial hypertension, neurosurgery, metallic implant at the cephalic level, pacemaker
* Unbalanced epilepsy
* Severe somatic disease not stabilized
* Previous use of tDCS (problem of maintaining the integrity of the blinding procedure)
* Scalp skin disease
* Concurrent participation in another drug research study or any other study that may interfere with study results
Minimum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Eric ETTORE, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Nice University Hospital

Locations

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Centre Memoire Ressources et Recherche, CHU de Nice

Nice, , France

Site Status

Countries

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France

Other Identifiers

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21-PP-15

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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