How Many Days Would You Want to Practice a Skill to Achieve it?
1 other identifier
interventional
27
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Practice is required to improve your shot in basketball or to play a musical instrument. The learning of these motor skills can be further enhanced by non-invasively stimulating regions of the brain that control movements with electrical currents. These electric currents can strengthen or weaken connections of the brain, which consequently affects a person's ability to improve their performance on a skill. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is widely applied in many disciplines of neuroscience research, and has potential therapeutic application. There are two specific types of NIBS that will be used in this research study: 1) Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), which applies very weak electrical currents via two rubber electrodes on the scalp, and 2) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which applies magnetic pulses via a coil against the head, to stimulate regions of the brain. Both types of non-invasive brain stimulation (i.e., tDCS, and TMS) are well-tolerated, painless, and safe. The application of tDCS to brain regions that control movements, concurrently with practice of a skill, results in better skill performance, than practice alone with no tDCS. Therefore, in this study, we will be testing different types of brain stimulation and different amounts of practice.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at below P25 for not_applicable
Started Apr 2018
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
August 2, 2017
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
August 15, 2017
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
April 20, 2018
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
August 31, 2020
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
August 31, 2020
CompletedOctober 27, 2020
October 1, 2020
2.4 years
August 2, 2017
October 23, 2020
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (2)
Accuracy
Accuracy is defined as the proportion of trials per block with hits to all targets in the correct sequence order.
Up to 8 days
Speed
Speed is captured by the average sequence movement time per training block
Up to 8 days
Study Arms (2)
Placebo Brain stimulation
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will receive Sham TDCS, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Excitatory Brain Stimulation
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will receive Anodal TDCS, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Interventions
Placebo stimulation is applied to the left motor cortex while participants perform a motor task in the right hand. During the motor task, participants use their right hand to pinch a force transducer that controls an on-screen cursor to navigate between a start position and a sequence of 5 other positions to the right.
Excitatory stimulation is applied to the left motor cortex while participants perform a motor task in the right hand. During the motor task, participants use their right hand to pinch a force transducer that controls an on-screen cursor to navigate between a start position and a sequence of 5 other positions to the right.
Participants will receive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to allow research investigators to determine the location of the left motor cortex.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Healthy
You may not qualify if:
- prior history of neurological or psychiatric disease
- prior experience with the motor task used
- contraindications to TMS and TDCS (e.g., metal implants, history of seizures and headaches)
- musculoskeletal injury to upper limb
- drugs that interact with NIBS (e.g., antidepressants, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants)
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center
Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada
MeSH Terms
Interventions
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Joyce Chen, PhD
Sunnybrook Research Institute
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT
- Purpose
- BASIC SCIENCE
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
August 2, 2017
First Posted
August 15, 2017
Study Start
April 20, 2018
Primary Completion
August 31, 2020
Study Completion
August 31, 2020
Last Updated
October 27, 2020
Record last verified: 2020-10