Transcranial Direct Current StimulationNCT03655769
fMRI Analysis of Aging and Awareness in Conditioning
A study testing transcranial direct current stimulation in people with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, run by Johns Hopkins University.
Trial summary
Cathodal Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was administered to the right parietal region in order to determine if this stimulation could disrupt awareness of the conditioned stimulus (CS) - unconditioned stimulus (US) relationship in a classical conditioning experiment. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 20 to 30 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
- What is being tested?
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 16 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 9 Nov 2010to 31 Dec 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 20 to 30 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Educational attainment of at least eight years and English as the native language
- Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 26
- Normal episodic memory (i.e., CERAD word List Recall > 5)
- Informed consent; 5) age of 20-30
Who cannot join
- Disturbed consciousness
- Other neurological or systemic disorder which can cause dementia or cognitive dysfunction
- Prior history of a major psychiatric disorder
- History of definite stroke
- Focal lesion on MRI exam
- Use of anxiolytic, antidepressant, neuroleptic, or sedative medication
- Predominately left-handed
- Has MRI contraindication such as pacemaker, implanted pumps, shrapnel, etc. (full MRI screening form will be filled out).
About this study
Official title: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Analysis of Aging and Awareness in Conditioning
Cathodal Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was administered to the right parietal region in order to determine if this stimulation could disrupt awareness of the conditioned stimulus (CS) - unconditioned stimulus (US) relationship in a classical conditioning experiment.
- Conditions
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
- Being tested
- transcranial direct current stimulation, sham transcranial direct current stimulation
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
transcranial direct current stimulationDevice
transcranial direct current stimulation applied at 2 mA over the right parietal region for 20 min
sham transcranial direct current stimulationDevice
transcranial direct current stimulation applied at 2 mA over the right parietal region for 30 sec
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| sham tDCS | Sham comparator | tDCS delivered for only 30 sec to replicate tingling sensation and blind subject Receives: Device: sham transcranial direct current stimulation |
| cathodal tDCS | Experimental | cathodal tDCS, 2 milliamps (mA), delivered to right parietal region Receives: Device: transcranial direct current stimulation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
CS-US Awareness
To assess CS-US awareness, we used a questionnaire The questionnaire consists of 7 true/false questions about the sequence and co-occurrence of the conditioned stimulus (CS, a 1000 Hz tone) and unconditioned stimulus (US, a 100 ms puff of air to the eye). The score can thus range from 0 to 7. Higher score values indicate better awareness of the sequence and co-occurrence of the CS and US
Measured: recorded immediately after the 20 minutes of tDCS stimulation
Secondary outcomes (2)
Line bisection test of left-hemifield neglect
The subject is given a sheet of paper with a number of horizontal lines on it. The subject is instructed to cut each line in half by drawing a small pencil mark through each line. The test is scored by measuring the percent deviation, which is calculated by the following formula:
Percent deviation=100 x (measured left half - true half)/true half This yields positive numbers for marks placed to the right of center, and negative numbers for marks placed to the left of center. Patients with right hemisphere damage and contralateral neglect show higher positive line bisection scores compared to healthy controls or patients without right hemisphere damage and vice versa.
Measured: recorded immediately after primary awareness questionnaire
Eyeblink conditioned responding
Eyeblink conditioning is recorded while the subject watches a silent movie. For conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) is a 1350 ms 1000 Hz tone. This tone co-terminates with a 100 ms left corneal airpuff (5 psi). 30 CS-US presentations are delivered at an average rate of one every 18 sec. Conditioned responses (CRs) are defined as follows: the difference between the maximum and minimum responses in a 500 ms pre-US time window must exceed four times the standard deviation of the mean of the baseline period (250 ms pre-CS presentation). The 500 ms pre-US time window was selected to minimize the inclusion of voluntary and alpha responses as CRs. Performance is expressed as % CRs, that is, the percent of trials in which a CR occurred. Greater numbers indicate greater amounts of learning.
Measured: recorded during the tDCS administration
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted31 Aug 2018
- Study start9 Nov 2010
- Primary completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Transcranial Direct Current StimulationStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Johns Hopkins UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 16 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Johns Hopkins University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- John Desmond, Principal investigator, Johns Hopkins University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03655769
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- NA_00045404
- Other IDs
- R01AG021501
- Status last verified
- Dec 2025
- First submitted
- 30 Aug 2018
- Last updated
- 11 Dec 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 Dec 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Analysis of Aging and Awareness in Conditioning
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03655769
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- NA_00045404
- Conditions
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Active, not recruiting
- Enrolment
- 16 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Johns Hopkins UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Study start
- 9 Nov 2010 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 31 Aug 2018 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Cathodal Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was administered to the right parietal region in order to determine if this stimulation could disrupt awareness of the conditioned stimulus (CS) - unconditioned stimulus (US) relationship in a classical conditioning experiment.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| sham tDCS | Sham comparator | Device: sham transcranial direct current stimulationtDCS delivered for only 30 sec to replicate tingling sensation and blind subject |
| cathodal tDCS | Experimental | Device: transcranial direct current stimulationcathodal tDCS, 2 milliamps (mA), delivered to right parietal region |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 20 to 30 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Educational attainment of at least eight years and English as the native language
- Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 26
- Normal episodic memory (i.e., CERAD word List Recall > 5)
- Informed consent; 5) age of 20-30
Key exclusion criteria (8 listed)
- Disturbed consciousness
- Other neurological or systemic disorder which can cause dementia or cognitive dysfunction
- Prior history of a major psychiatric disorder
- History of definite stroke
- Focal lesion on MRI exam
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| transcranial direct current stimulationtranscranial direct current stimulation applied at 2 mA over the right parietal region for 20 min | Device | cathodal tDCS |
| sham transcranial direct current stimulationtranscranial direct current stimulation applied at 2 mA over the right parietal region for 30 sec | Device | sham tDCS |
Primary outcome
CS-US Awareness
Time frame: recorded immediately after the 20 minutes of tDCS stimulation
To assess CS-US awareness, we used a questionnaire The questionnaire consists of 7 true/false questions about the sequence and co-occurrence of the conditioned stimulus (CS, a 1000 Hz tone) and unconditioned stimulus (US, a 100 ms puff of air to the eye). The score can thus range from 0 to 7. Higher score values indicate better awareness of the sequence and co-occurrence of the CS and US
2 secondary outcomes
Line bisection test of left-hemifield neglect
Time frame: recorded immediately after primary awareness questionnaire
Eyeblink conditioned responding
Time frame: recorded during the tDCS administration
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 Dec 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Brain Stimulation Paired With Structured Reading Instruction in Children With Dyslexia
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Cumulative and Booster Effects of Multisession Prefrontal tDCS in ASD Adolescents
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Enrolling by invitation
Brain Stimulation Paired With Structured Language Learning in Adults
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
John Desmond principal investigator
Johns Hopkins University
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing transcranial direct current stimulation in people with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, run by Johns Hopkins University.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
CS-US Awareness (time frame: recorded immediately after the 20 minutes of tDCS stimulation). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Dec 2025.