Stimulating the Aging Brain Using Brain and Sensory Stimulation

Part of paid clinical trials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Sponsor
Medical College of Wisconsin
Study ID
NCT07650188
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Primary Progressive Aphasia

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
45 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • tACS or multisensory stimulation — DEVICE
    Active or sham tACS Light and/or sound flickers

Study Details

The goal of this project is to investigate whether transcranial electrical stimulation and sensory stimulation affect language outcomes in individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). The main questions it aims to answer are: Does transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) affect verbal short-term memory (STM) in individuals with PPA? Does a single session of multisensory stimulation affect verbal STM in individuals with PPA? Researchers will compare active tACS to sham tACS (a fake stimulation condition) to see if active tACS improves verbal STM. Researchers will compare pre-multisensory stimulation to post-stimulation performance to see if multisensory stimulation improves verbal STM. Participants will: Undergo EEG, MRI (anatomical and functional) May complete a cognitive exam Undergo tACS over 3 separate sessions Undergo multisensory stimulation Complete language tasks before, during and/or after stimulation

Key Dates

Start date
Jun 1, 2026
Status verified
Jun 2026
Primary completion
May 30, 2031
Completion
May 30, 2035

Study Design

Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: tACS or multisensory stimulation
    All participants in a within-subject design will receive high-Definition-tACS, delivered via a battery operated alternating current stimulator (Soterix) using two center-surround montages. Targets of stimulation will be localized based on the 10-10 International EEG system with center electrodes placed at a frontal and a temporoparietal site. The current is turned on and increased in a ramplike fashion over approximately 30 seconds. Participants will undergo tACS with frequencies ranging from 4-40Hz for 20-minutes with 2 milliampere (mA) peak-to-peak intensity. For sham stimulation, tACS is turned off after the first 30 seconds. All participants will receive light and/or sound flicker stimulation using an off-the-shelf app for 20 minutes.

Primary Outcome Measure

Changes in STM capacity assessed using a verbal STM task [ Time Frame: Changes monitored over pre, during and immediately after 20 minutes of tACS ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Medical College of WisconsinMilwaukeeWisconsin53226
Sidney Schoenrock, MA
[email protected]
414-955-7579

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