PARKINSON DISEASE (Disorder)NCT07351032
Understanding How Movements Are Transferred From Task to Task in Parkinson's Disease
A study testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active in people with PARKINSON DISEASE (Disorder), run by McGill University at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to understand how a specific brain area, the Posterior Parietal Cortex (PPC), plays a role in movement transfer from walking on a split-belt treadmill (SBT) to walking on the ground in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 50 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- PARKINSON DISEASE (Disorder)
- What is being tested?
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 24 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- 18 Nov 2025to May 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 50 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- a confirmed diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease
- absence of freezing of gait confirmed by a "No" answer to the second item of the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (NFOGQ) and no observation of FOG during a freezing provoking test
- no other neurological diagnosis
- no severe musculoskeletal/orthopedic or vestibular condition that interferes with walking and or significantly affects balance
- no mild cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment ≥ 25)
- able to walk independently and without assistive device for 30 minutes
- no previous experience with split-belt treadmill.
Who cannot join
- severe dyskinesia that interacts with walking and balance hearing or visual impairment
- observed inability to walk safely on a tied-belt treadmill
- neurological disorders other than PD or other pathology (e.g., orthopedic) interfering with mobility. - contradiction for TMS
- implanted deep brain stimulator.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Canada1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
McGill University - Currie Gymnasium
Montreal, Quebec, H2W 1S4
Tomoha Ogawa, BA, 514-398-2488, hbcl@mcgill.ca
Caroline Paquette, PhD
About this study
Official title: Neural Mechanism of Skill Transfer in Parkinson's Disease
The purpose of this study is to understand how a specific brain area, the Posterior Parietal Cortex (PPC), plays a role in movement transfer from walking on a split-belt treadmill (SBT) to walking on the ground in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD).
Here, investigators will apply repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to upregulate the PPC. Then, the differences in the gait parameters between pre- and post-interventions will be compared between the TMS-active and the TMS-sham.
Read the detailed description
The split-belt training has been shown to modulate gait in PwPD, but the skill transfer from the SBT training to the overground walking is poorly understood.
In this project, the subjects will visit the lab on three occasions: day 1 is for the clinical assessment based on the questionnaires, the 10-Meter Walk Task, as well as finding TMS targets and thresholds for the tibialis anterior (TA) and first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles, day 2 and day 3 are for either rTMS-active or rTMS-sham intervention. The second and third visits will take place at least 48h a part to ensure that the rTMS effects are washed out between visits.
During these two visits, the participants will first perform pre-overground walking tests (3 minutes): straight walking, steering, and turning, followed by pre-SBT adaptation tests (4 minutes) where they will adapt their gait to the asymmetrical belt that changes every 30 seconds. After these walking tests, the threshold measured on the first day will be validated, and the cortical excitability of the PPC will be measured by using a dual-coil: one is over the TA hotspot, and the other is over the PPC. Then, rTMS or sham intervention will be performed, followed by measuring the cortical excitability of the PPC. Immediately after that intervention, the participants will train on the SBT for 30 minutes in total (with a one-minute break every 5 minutes) with the speed of the belt changing every 30 seconds. Following the SBT training, the participants will perform post-overground and post-SBT adaptation tests. Lastly, the cortical excitability of the PPC will be measured.
- Conditions
- PARKINSON DISEASE (Disorder)
- Being tested
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Sham
- Keywords
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Split-belt Treadmill, Gait, Motor Adaptation
- Medical subject headings
- Parkinson Disease
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ActiveOther
ACTIVE: intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (a patterned form of rTMS). The participants will receive iTBS (50hz bursts at 5Hz for 600 pulses for a total duration of 3-minutes) over the right PPC at 80% RMT of the FDI.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ShamOther
SHAM: 2 coils on top of each other will be used instead of 1. The coil furthest to the head will be reversed. The coil on the head will not be stimulating but the reversed coil will (current directed away from the brain) with stimulate with the same parameters at the active stimulation (intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (a patterned form of rTMS). The participants will receive iTBS (50hz bursts at 5Hz for 600 pulses for a total duration of 3-minutes) over the right PPC at 80% RMT of the FDI.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Active rTMS First followed by Sham rTMS Second | Other | Session 1: active rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC Session 2: sham rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC Receives: Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active; Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Sham |
| Sham rTMS First followed by Active rTMS Second | Other | Session 1: sham rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC Session 2: active rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC Receives: Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active; Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Sham |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Stride length
The forward distance travelled by a foot during a gait cycle (cm) measured during overground walking and on the SBT with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system.
A higher score indicates better gait control.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Dual Support
The percentage of the gait cycle when both feet are in contact with the ground (%) will be measured during overground walking and on the SBT with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system.
A higher score indicates a longer time for both feet to be in contact with the ground.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Secondary outcomes (6)
Cadence
The number of steps per minute will be measured during overground walking and on the SBT with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system.
A higher score indicates better gait control.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Gait Speed
The speed of the subject, measured as the distance traveled in the gait cycle divided by the gait cycle duration (m/s) during overground walking and on the SBT will be measured with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system.
A higher score indicates better gait control.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Turning Velocity
The peak angular velocity of the turn (deg/s) during overground walking will be measured with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system.
The higher score indicates better turning performance.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Steps in turn
The number of steps taken in one turn during overground walking will be measured with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system.
The higher score indicates better turning performance.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Step length
The distance between the heels of two consecutive steps (m) during overground walking will be measured with a custom MATLAB script.
The higher score indicates better gait control.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Cortical Excitability
The cortical excitability will be assessed using a dual coil setup where two coils are placed on 2 different locations of the scalp at the same time. One coil will be positioned over the PPC, and the other over the TA hotspot.
A total of 50 stimuli will be randomly delivered: 25 pulses will be applied solely over the TA hotspot (TA), and the other 25 paired pulses in which a PPC stimulus precedes the TA stimulus by 4 milliseconds (PPC + TA).
Cortical excitability will be quantified by using the following ratio: (PPC + TA) / (TA).
The higher score indicates the greater excitability of the neurons along the PPC-M1 pathway.
Measured: Day 2 and Day 3
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted20 Jan 2026
- Study start18 Nov 2025
- Primary completionMay 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionMay 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for PARKINSON DISEASE (Disorder)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- 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
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- McGill University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Caroline Paquette, McGill University
- Investigators
- Caroline Paquette, PhD, Principal investigator, McGill University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07351032
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 24-12-053
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 26 Sep 2025
- Last updated
- 20 Jan 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: We have a data management plan in place but will make anonymized data available.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 20 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Neural Mechanism of Skill Transfer in Parkinson's Disease
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07351032
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 24-12-053
- Conditions
- PARKINSON DISEASE (Disorder)
- Keywords
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Split-belt Treadmill, Gait, Motor Adaptation
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- McGill UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 18 Nov 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- May 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- May 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 20 Jan 2026 (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.
The purpose of this study is to understand how a specific brain area, the Posterior Parietal Cortex (PPC), plays a role in movement transfer from walking on a split-belt treadmill (SBT) to walking on the ground in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD).
Here, investigators will apply repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to upregulate the PPC. Then, the differences in the gait parameters between pre- and post-interventions will be compared between the TMS-active and the TMS-sham.
Detailed description
The split-belt training has been shown to modulate gait in PwPD, but the skill transfer from the SBT training to the overground walking is poorly understood.
In this project, the subjects will visit the lab on three occasions: day 1 is for the clinical assessment based on the questionnaires, the 10-Meter Walk Task, as well as finding TMS targets and thresholds for the tibialis anterior (TA) and first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles, day 2 and day 3 are for either rTMS-active or rTMS-sham intervention. The second and third visits will take place at least 48h a part to ensure that the rTMS effects are washed out between visits.
During these two visits, the participants will first perform pre-overground walking tests (3 minutes): straight walking, steering, and turning, followed by pre-SBT adaptation tests (4 minutes) where they will adapt their gait to the asymmetrical belt that changes every 30 seconds. After these walking tests, the threshold measured on the first day will be validated, and the cortical excitability of the PPC will be measured by using a dual-coil: one is over the TA hotspot, and the other is over the PPC. Then, rTMS or sham intervention will be performed, followed by measuring the cortical excitability of the PPC. Immediately after that intervention, the participants will train on the SBT for 30 minutes in total (with a one-minute break every 5 minutes) with the speed of the belt changing every 30 seconds. Following the SBT training, the participants will perform post-overground and post-SBT adaptation tests. Lastly, the cortical excitability of the PPC will be measured.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Active rTMS First followed by Sham rTMS Second | Other | Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active, Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ShamSession 1: active rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC Session 2: sham rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC |
| Sham rTMS First followed by Active rTMS Second | Other | Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active, Other: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ShamSession 1: sham rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC Session 2: active rTMS (iTBS) over the right PPC |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 50 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (7 listed)
- a confirmed diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease
- absence of freezing of gait confirmed by a "No" answer to the second item of the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (NFOGQ) and no observation of FOG during a freezing provoking test
- no other neurological diagnosis
- no severe musculoskeletal/orthopedic or vestibular condition that interferes with walking and or significantly affects balance
- no mild cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment ≥ 25)
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- severe dyskinesia that interacts with walking and balance hearing or visual impairment
- observed inability to walk safely on a tied-belt treadmill
- neurological disorders other than PD or other pathology (e.g., orthopedic) interfering with mobility. - contradiction for TMS
- implanted deep brain stimulator.
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 Magnetic Stimulation ActiveACTIVE: intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (a patterned form of rTMS). The participants will receive iTBS (50hz bursts at 5Hz for 600 pulses for a total duration of 3-minutes) over the right PPC at 80% RMT of the FDI. | Other | Active rTMS First followed by Sham rTMS Second, Sham rTMS First followed by Active rTMS Second |
| Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ShamSHAM: 2 coils on top of each other will be used instead of 1. The coil furthest to the head will be reversed. The coil on the head will not be stimulating but the reversed coil will (current directed away from the brain) with stimulate with the same parameters at the active stimulation (intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (a patterned form of rTMS). The participants will receive iTBS (50hz bursts at 5Hz for 600 pulses for a total duration of 3-minutes) over the right PPC at 80% RMT of the FDI. | Other | Active rTMS First followed by Sham rTMS Second, Sham rTMS First followed by Active rTMS Second |
Primary outcome
Stride length
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
The forward distance travelled by a foot during a gait cycle (cm) measured during overground walking and on the SBT with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system. A higher score indicates better gait control.
Dual Support
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
The percentage of the gait cycle when both feet are in contact with the ground (%) will be measured during overground walking and on the SBT with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) mobility lab system. A higher score indicates a longer time for both feet to be in contact with the ground.
6 secondary outcomes
Cadence
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
Gait Speed
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
Turning Velocity
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
Steps in turn
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
Step length
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
Cortical Excitability
Time frame: Day 2 and Day 3
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 20 Jan 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. We have a data management plan in place but will make anonymized data available.
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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.
Caroline Paquette, PhD principal investigator
McGill University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Active in people with PARKINSON DISEASE (Disorder), run by McGill University at 1 site in Canada.
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 7 inclusion and 4 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. 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?
Contact Tomoha Ogawa, BA (514-398-2488, hbcl@mcgill.ca), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Stride length (time frame: Day 2 and Day 3). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. 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 20 Jan 2026.