Studying Use-Dependent Plasticity

NCT00067223 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 03027303-N-0273
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 28
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Recent studies suggest that when patients learn a new motor movement, it may cause a change in the way the nerves act in the area of the brain that controls that movement. This change is called use-dependent plasticity. The purpose of this study is to determine the direction and extent of the changes that take place in the brain areas that control movement in the untrained finger after the training of the opposite finger. The study outcomes may help researchers to develop rehabilitation strategies for people who have suffered brain injuries. Eighteen healthy adults age 18 years or older will be enrolled in this study. Participants will undergo a clinical exam and then come back to the Clinical Center three times for sessions that will last approximately 2 hours each. For each session, participants' forearms will be immobilized and a small electronic device will be attached to each index finger so that researchers can measure their movements. Participants will be asked to move either index finger and to observe and concentrate on its movement. Investigators will perform transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) before and after these motor exercises. For TMS, a wire coil is held over the scalp and a brief electrical current passes through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that electrically stimulates the brain.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS); Unilateral Finger Movement; Interhemispheric Inhibition; Motor Training; Plasticity; Healthy Volunteer; HV

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Only healthy volunteers 18 years or older will be included in this protocol. Handedness will be assessed by the Edinburgh Inventory Scale. All experimental sessions will be studied on outpatient basis. Normal Volunteers with right-handedness will be eligible to participate.

You may not qualify if:

• Subjects with the history of epilepsy, surgery with metallic implants or known history of metallic particles in the eye, cardiac pacemaker, neural stimulators, cochlear implants, history of drug abuse, psychiatric illness (depression), hypertension or use of medications that influence synaptic plasticity, will be excluded as evaluated by the investigator.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Liepert J, Dettmers C, Terborg C, Weiller C. Inhibition of ipsilateral motor cortex during phasic generation of low force. Clin Neurophysiol. 2001 Jan;112(1):114-21. doi: 10.1016/s1388-2457(00)00503-4.

  PMID: 11137668 BACKGROUND

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Sponsor Type: NIH

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 12, 2003
• First Posted: August 13, 2003
• Study Start: August 5, 2003
• Study Completion: June 25, 2007
• Last Updated: July 2, 2017

Record last verified: 2007-06-25

Locations

US (1)