8 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This is a prospective clinical trial to confirm the effectiveness of bilateral accelerated theta burst stimulation (aTBS) on suicidal ideation (SI), while exploring cortical inhibition measures in this treatment paradigm. In this proposed study, the investigators will evaluate the anti-suicidal effects of bilateral aTBS over the DLPFC compared to accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS) over the left DLPFC in participants with TRD and SI. Additionally, the investigators aim to identify neurophysiological targets through which bilateral aTBS induces remission of SI in TRD differentially from aiTBS.
The goal of this study is to understand why some people act more impulsively when feeling negative emotions, which is called negative urgency. The researchers hope to understand how negative urgency relates to the way networks of brain cells communicate with one another. The researchers will measure negative urgency and brain signals in adolescents aged 13-21 years with depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Whether a type of brain signaling called cortical inhibition is related to negative urgency * Whether depressed adolescents with suicidal behavior have more problems with cortical inhibition than depressed adolescents with suicidal thoughts only * Whether the relationship between negative urgency and cortical inhibition changes over time Adolescents who participate in the study will complete the following activities at the time they join the study, as well as 6 months and 12 months later: * Interviews with researchers and questionnaires to learn about their thoughts, emotions, and symptoms * A questionnaire about impulsive behaviors and negative urgency * Computerized games that measure brain functions * An MRI scan of the brain * Transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG), a way to measure how brain cells communicate (cortical inhibition) using a magnet placed outside of the head and recording brain signals
The AMPLIFI study (Adaptive Modulation of Plasticity through Lactate and Fitness Interventions) investigates how short-term aerobic exercise influences brain plasticity and learning in older adults and stroke survivors. The study compares three groups: one performing aerobic cycling exercise at an intensity that increases lactate levels, one doing low-intensity exercise, and one receiving health education without exercise. All participants will complete motor learning tasks and undergo brain stimulation testing (using transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS) to assess how well the brain responds to training. The goal is to understand whether different types of exercise can improve brain function, movement, and memory, and how the body's response to exercise (like lactate levels) might support brain health. This research may help identify low-cost, non-invasive interventions-such as targeted exercise-that improve motor and cognitive outcomes in aging and stroke recovery.
The purpose of this study is to learn if measures of brain chemicals from a brain scan called Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) and brain activity (known as cortical excitability and inhibition) collected by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) are different in adolescents with depression who are in different stages of treatment. Researchers are conducting this study to learn more about how the brain works in adolescents with depression and without depression (healthy controls). This is important because it may identify a biological marker (a measure of how bad an illness is) for depression that could one day be used to identify depressed adolescents who would benefit from certain treatments (medications for example) or to monitor how well treatments are working.
The purpose of this study is to learn if measures of brain activity are different in children and adolescents with depression who are in different stages of treatment. This is important because it may identify a biological marker for depression that could one day be used to identify depressed children who would benefit from certain treatments (medications for example), or to monitor how well treatments are working. Brain activity measures(known as cortical excitability and inhibition) will be collected by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). TMS is a noninvasive (no surgery or implants) brain stimulation technology which can make parts of the brain work without putting any wires or chemicals into the body. Measurements will take place over one 3-hour visit. This study does not provide any form of treatment. \*There is an optional portion of the study that uses a brain scan to gather measures of brain structure and brain chemicals. The brain scan is called magnetic resonance and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS). MRI/MRS uses magnetic fields to study the structure of the brain and brain chemicals. The PI will determine eligibility for the MRI/MRS portion of the study.
Patients with Parkinson's Disease will be studied before, during, and after a deep brain stimulation implantation procedure to see if the stimulation location and the size of the electrical field produced by subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS determine the degree to which DBS engages circuits that involve prefrontal cortex executive functions, and therefore have a direct impact on the patient's ability to inhibit actions.
This study will examine whether blind people develop changes in the brain that improve memory function. Previous studies have shown that blind people, on average, perform better in memory tasks than sighted people. A possible reason for this is that parts of the brain that process visual information in sighted individuals are engaged in processing mnemonic (remembering) information in blind people. Blind and sighted people 18 years of age and older are eligible for this study. Healthy, sighted individuals may participate in Part 1 of the study, which is designed to find appropriate words to use in tests for Part 2 of the study. Part 2 will include sighted people and blind people. It will examine whether the (visual) brain in blind people is processing mnemonic information in a way that helps with day-to-day memory functions. Blind participants in this study must have lost their sight by age 4. Candidates will be screened with a medical interview and examination and a brief test of short-term and long-term verbal memory. Sighted patients will also be tested for visual memory and for handedness. Part 1 - Word Recognition Testing (2 sessions) * Session 1: Participants listen to a number of words over a loudspeaker and try to remember them for a memory test that will be given 30 minutes later. For the test, subjects listen to words again and press one of three buttons as quickly as possible after hearing the word. The buttons signal whether the subject does or does not recognize the word with a 1) high level of confidence or 2) low level of confidence. * Session 2: Participants hear a noun over a loudspeaker and have to find an appropriate verb for it, such as the verb (read) for the noun (book). Part 2 - MRI Scanning and TMS Experiments (5 - 7 sessions) * Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Participants perform the same procedures as described above for Part 1 while undergoing MRI of the brain. For this test, the subject lies on a table inside the MRI scanner - a narrow cylindrical tube with a strong magnetic field. Scanning time varies from 20 minutes to 3 hours, with most scans lasting between 45 and 90 minutes. (Earphones are used to hear the words for this test instead of a loudspeaker.) * Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): Participants undergo TMS while performing the same procedures described for Part 1. For TMS, a wire coil is held over the scalp. A brief electrical current is passed through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain. Subjects may hear a click and feel a pulling sensation on the skin under the coil. There may be a twitch in muscles of the arm or leg. During the TMS, electrical muscle activity is recorded through the electrodes with a computer or other recording device. Each session lasts a maximum of 3 hours.
This two-part study will use transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS (see below), to explore how the brain forms memories. People remember only some of the events they experience every day, such as faces they perceive, words they read, speech they hear and interpret, and so forth. The events remembered are those that have been saved or formed in the brain. Part 1 of this study involves testing materials for Part 2, the TMS experiment. Part 2 uses TMS to examine what parts of the brain are involved in forming memories. Information gained from this study may be used in developing methods of enhancing memory in both healthy people and in patients with memory impairments. Healthy right-handed volunteers between 18 and 35 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates may be screened with a medical interview and physical examination and a brief test of short- and long-term visual and verbal memory. Eligible volunteers may participate in Part 1 or Part 2 of the study, as follows: Part 1 - Preparation of Words and Picture Materials Participants look at several words or shapes that appear in random order on a computer screen and try to remember them as well as possible for a memory test that will be given 20 minutes later. Each image appears on the screen for 3/4 of a second, with 1-1/4-second intervals between them. For the test, words and shapes are again shown on the computer screen at the same timing and intervals. When the items appear, the subject presses one of three buttons as quickly as possible, determining if he or she has recognized the items with a high or low level of confidence. The entire procedure lasts up to 1 hour, with breaks in between. The purpose of this experiment is to find appropriate words and pictures to use as stimuli in the TMS study described below. Part 2 - TMS Experiment For TMS, the subject sits in a comfortable chair. An insulated wire coil is placed on the scalp, and brief electrical currents are passed through the coil, creating magnetic pulses that stimulate the brain. The pulses may cause a pulling sensation on the skin under the coil and twitching in muscles of the arm or leg. Electrodes are taped to the skin over some muscles of the hands to record the electrical activity of the muscles. Pulses are delivered in trains or short bursts of impulses, each lasting half a second. Participants receive 90 trains for a total of 900 pulses. TMS is applied during the first part of the memory study, when the words and shapes are first presented on the computer screen, but not during the second presentation for memory testing. The entire procedure takes up to 2 hours, with breaks in between. Before the TMS session, participants undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine where to place the coil for TMS. For MRI, the subject lies still for up to 30 minutes at a time on a table that slides into the scanner, a narrow metal cylinder surrounded by a strong magnetic field. Earplugs are worn to muffle loud knocking sounds that occur while the scanner takes pictures. Subjects can communicate with the MRI staff at all times and can ask to stop the procedure at any time.