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| Name | Class |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Education, Singapore | OTHER_GOV |
| National Institute of Education, Singapore | OTHER |
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The goal of this randomised controlled trial is to investigate the effects of a 2-week high-frequency transcranial pulsed current stimulation (tPCS) on cognitive outcomes in older and healthy adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Researchers will compare tPCS / tDCS / sham-tPCS to see if there are any differences in cognitive outcomes after 1 session and after repeated sessions, as well as to compare the tolerance of tPCS against tDCS and sham-tPCS.
Participants will be requested to:
tPCS / tDCS and sham-tPCS will be administered between 0.6 to 0.7 mA for 20 minutes. This will take place over 10 consecutive sessions, with a 2 day break between days 5 and 6 of brain stimulation. The setup of the stimulation consists of a saline-soaked sponge anode electrode placed over the left forehead area over the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, and the cathode will be placed over the right parietal cortex. Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions and this will be blinded to both the participants and the researcher (double-blinded).
Cognitive tasks will be administered at baseline, after 1 session of stimulation and after 10 sessions of stimulation (post-stimulation). These cognitive tasks consist of a working memory task (1/2/3 back tasks), a cognitive inhibition task (go/no-go task) and a cognitive flexibility task (Stroop task). Concurrent with the cognitive task will be the administration of fNIRS-EEG recording to measure changes in brain activation and patterns during the tasks.
The experiment will take place in the Motor Behaviour Lab at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) | Active Comparator | In this condition, current intensity will be maintained between 0.6 to 0.7 mA for 20 minutes. |
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| High Frequency Transcranial Pulsed Current Stimulation (HF-tPCS) | Experimental | In this condition, current will be introduced in pulses with intensity consistent between 0.6 to 0.7 mA. The duration of the stimulation is 20 minutes. |
|
| Sham-tPCS | Sham Comparator | In this condition, there will be a 30 seconds ramp-up phase to a current intensity between 0.6 to 0.7 mA followed by a 30 seconds ramp-down phase to 0 mA. The participant will, however, remain seated with the set-up for the remaining time until 20 minutes is up. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (tDCS / tPCS / sham-tPCS) | Device | This is a novel non-invasive brain stimulation technique that we hope to be investigating, and this technique will be compared with an active control (tDCS) and a control (sham-tPCS). |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Functioning | Working memory through 1-, 2- and 3-back tasks performance Behavioural inhibitory control through Go / No-Go task performance Cognitive flexibility through Stroop task performance | Baseline, after day 1 of stimulation, 3 to 4 days after the 10 sessions of stimulation |
| Task-based activation and functional connectivity during executive functioning tasks | Measuring changes in hemodynamic (oxyhaemoglobin) responses in the brain using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) | Baseline, after day 1 of stimulation, 3 to 4 days after the 10 sessions of stimulation |
| Neural function associated with executive functioning tasks | Measuring neural activity using electroencephaogram (EEG) whereby traditional EEG bands (e.g. Alpha, Beta, Theta, Delta) will be assessed. | Baseline, after day 1 of stimulation, 3 to 4 days after the 10 sessions of stimulation |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerance of tPCS (intervention) | Questionnaires on participants' well-being after stimulation sessions [adapted and modified from Antal et al. (2017)]. The participants will rate their symptoms / discomfort as follows: none, mild, moderate, or strong and state the extent to which the symptoms / discomfort is / are affecting their general state from a scale of 'Not at all' to 'Very much'. | Immediately after the intervention |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wei Peng Teo, Associate Professor | Contact | (+65)67903704 | weipeng.teo@nie.edu.sg | |
| Shun Xin Koong | Contact | (+65)83078316 | nie25.ksx@e.ntu.edu.sg |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Wei Peng Teo, Associate Professor | National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore | Principal Investigator |
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Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions.
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D065908 | Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D004599 | Electric Stimulation Therapy |
| D013812 | Therapeutics |
| D003295 | Convulsive Therapy |
| D013000 | Psychiatric Somatic Therapies |
| D004191 | Behavioral Disciplines and Activities |
| D004597 | Electroshock |
| D011580 | Psychological Techniques |
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