RECRUITING

Effects of Brain Stimulation on Cognition, Oscillations and GABA Levels in Schizophrenia

Study Overview

This clinical trial focuses on testing the efficacy of different digital interventions to promote re-engagement in cancer-related long-term follow-up care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of childhood cancer.

Description

People with schizophrenia often have problems with attention, learning and memory and other cognitive abilities that interfere with their work and school performance. Unfortunately, even our best treatments often do not significantly reduce these cognitive problems. The current study investigates whether or not delivering a very small electrical current to people's foreheads (called, transcranial direct current stimulation; (tDCS)) might improve functioning in the front part of the brain and reduce these cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia. tDCS is non-invasive and has been shown to improve cognitive functioning in some preliminary studies. The current study will investigate whether giving tDCS during a task is more effective than giving it during rest (Aim 1), whether delivery of tDCS to the front of the head is more effective than delivery to the back of the head (Aim 2), and whether tDCS delivery will alter levels of a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain (GABA; Aim 3) that is important to cognitive functioning and may be disrupted in people with schizophrenia. Although this study is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat schizophrenia or any other disease, if results are positive it will encourage future large-scale studies to determine if tDCS can become an effective treatment for cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia.

Official Title

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Studies of Cognition, Oscillations and GABA Levels in Schizophrenia

Quick Facts

Study Start:2020-01-09
Study Completion:2025-08-31
Study Type:Not specified
Phase:Not Applicable
Enrollment:Not specified
Status:RECRUITING

Study ID

NCT04267003

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Ages Eligible for Study:18 Years to 47 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:Yes
Standard Ages:ADULT
Inclusion CriteriaExclusion Criteria
  1. * Participants must be able to sufficiently speak and understand English so as to be able to understand and complete cognitive tasks.
  2. * All subjects must have the ability to give valid informed consent.
  3. * Diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective disorder
  4. * No medication changes in the prior month
  5. * No medication changes anticipated in the upcoming month
  6. * Stable outpatient or partial hospital status
  7. * Normal IQ (\>70; IQ will be measured by administering the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of
  8. * Intelligence (WASI) test)
  9. * Must not be currently taking the antipsychotic clozapine
  1. * Pacemakers
  2. * Implanted electrical (brain and spinal) stimulators
  3. * Implanted defibrillator
  4. * Metallic implants
  5. * Skin damage or skin conditions such as eczema at the sites where electrodes will be placed
  6. * Hair styles hindering the placement of electrodes
  7. * Cranial pathologies
  8. * Head trauma
  9. * Epilepsy
  10. * Mental retardation
  11. * Any known history of neurological disorders (including epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke, cerebral palsy, any DSM-5 axis I psychiatric disorder (for healthy control subjects), autism)
  12. * Uncorrected vision problems that would hinder cognitive testing (this also pertains to subjects with color blindness in tasks where discriminating colored objects/items is necessary for successful performance)
  13. * Pregnancy
  14. * Substance dependence in the past six months
  15. * Substance abuse in the past month

Contacts and Locations

Study Contact

Molly A Bainbridge
CONTACT
(916) 734-8779
mebainbridge@ucdavis.edu

Study Locations (Sites)

Imaging Research Center
Sacramento, California, 95817
United States

Collaborators and Investigators

Sponsor: University of California, Davis

Study Record Dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

Study Start Date2020-01-09
Study Completion Date2025-08-31

Study Record Updates

Study Start Date2020-01-09
Study Completion Date2025-08-31

Terms related to this study

Keywords Provided by Researchers

  • schizophrenia
  • EEG
  • tDCS
  • dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
  • cognitive control
  • transcranial direct current stimulation
  • GABA
  • MR spectroscopy

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

  • Schizophrenia