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Closed-Loop Brain Stimulation as a Potential Intervention for Cognitive Decline

Who can join

As published by the study on ClinicalTrials.gov. "Not stated" means the study hasn't said — ask the study team.

Age
18 Years to 90 Years
Sex
All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Compensation
Not stated

Other requirements are listed under Eligibility below. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.

What to expect

No one can promise a trial will help you personally — that is what the research is trying to find out.

What participation involves

Not stated in the study description — ask the study team about visits and procedures.

Compensation
Not stated
  • Study-related exams and procedures are typically provided at no cost. This is how many trials work in general — confirm the details for this study with the study team.
  • Participants are monitored closely by the research team throughout the study.
  • Some participants may receive access to an investigational treatment, which is still being studied.
  • Your participation helps researchers learn whether this approach could help future patients.

About this study

In plain language

This study tests whether magnetic brain stimulation can improve thinking skills in older adults with and without thinking problems. It compares stimulation timed by brain signals during a video game with stimulation not timed this way. The study also includes young adults with normal thinking skills.

The goal of this clinical study is to investigate the effectiveness of non-invasive stimulation to enhance cognitive control abilities in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. The main questions it aims to answer are: * whether it is possible to restore various cognitive functions in older adults by delivering theta burst stimulation (TBS), a form of transcranial magnetic stimulation, and * whether closed-loop TBS is able to induce therapeutic benefits that outperform open-loop TBS. Participants play a cognitive video game while a brain-computer interface (BCI) analyzes their electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and decodes the presence or absence of the contingent negative variation (CNV) potential, a marker of cognitive control. The BCI triggers TBS when its outputs indicate that the participant is not engaged properly in the video game. Researchers will compare the effects of closed-loop and open-loop TBS using the outcome metrics described below to see how much cognitive restorations is achievable with each stimulation modality.

Compensation is read from the study's own description and may be missing — always confirm with the study team.

Eligibility

Who can join

  • Adults ages 60–90 who report problems with memory or thinking, or adults ages 18–35 with normal thinking skills.
  • In good general health.
  • Have normal vision, with glasses or contacts if needed.
  • Finished elementary school or can understand study instructions at a middle school level.

Who can't join

  • Report a brain or mental health condition that could make magnetic brain stimulation unsafe, such as seizures, brain damage, fainting, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or a current substance use disorder.
  • Take medicines listed as affecting the level at which seizures occur, such as stimulants or high-dose bupropion.
  • Have a skin infection, wounds, skin rash, or something like a wig that cannot be removed that prevents brain-wave recording or stimulation.
  • Are getting amyloid infusion treatment for Alzheimer's disease, given through a vein.
  • Cannot give informed consent and have no legally authorized person who can give permission for them.
  • Have a resting motor threshold—the stimulation level needed to make a muscle respond—below the lab's power limit. This is checked at the first visit.

Simplified for readability. The official criteria below are what the study team uses.

Official eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Older adults 1. Ages between 60 to 90 years 2. Good general health 3. Normal or corrected vision 4. Completed elementary school education or able to understand middle school level experiment instructions 5. Self reports cognitive complaints * Cognitively normal young adults 1. Ages between 18 to 35 years 2. Good general health 3. Normal or corrected vision 4. Completed elementary school education or able to understand middle school level experiment instructions Exclusion Criteria: 1. Self-report of neurological or psychiatric diseases that could be contraindicated for TMS (e.g., personal history of epilepsy/seizure brain damage, history of fainting, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, current substance use disorder, etc.). 2. Medications that elevate seizure threshold (e.g., stimulant medication, high dose bupropion). 3. Factors hindering EEG acquisition and rTMS delivery (e.g., skin infection, wounds, dermatitis, unable to access the scalp of the participant (e.g., unremovable wig). 4. Current participation in amyloid infusion treatment for Alzheimer's disease. 5. Do not have the capacity to provide informed consent and does not have a Legally Authorized Representative. 6. Resting motor threshold below the power limit in the laboratory. (Will be check on the first visit)

Study sites (1)

TX