RightFit
RecruitingNot applicable

Use of a Mobile Brain-Body Imaging Approach to Evaluate the Effects of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Gait and Brain Function in Alzheimer's Disease

Who can join

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

Age
50 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

  • Visits mentioned: 1 visit

Only what the study's summary and detailed description on ClinicalTrials.gov say. Time periods may describe the whole study or a part of it — ask the study team what applies to you.

Show the study's own words
  • "All participants complete one study visit conducted at the Boston University (BU) Neuromotor Recovery Laboratory (NRL) and/or affiliated BU clinical research facilities. 3."
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 how walking to a musical beat affects walking and brain function in people with Alzheimer's disease. It also looks at whether memory and thinking skills affect the results. Adults ages 50–90 with Alzheimer's disease and healthy adults without it may join.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is associated with impairments in both gait and cognition, significantly increasing fall risk. Falls are a leading cause of injury-related disability in older adults, and individuals with AD experience a nearly threefold higher rate of falls compared to neurotypical older adults. There is an urgent need for fall prevention interventions tailored to the unique deficits of individuals with AD. Converging evidence suggests that interventions aiming to reduce fall risk in AD should target both gait and cognition. Rhythmic music interventions, such as Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) can harness global brain activation and auditory-motor entrainment to facilitate high-intensity exercise to alleviate AD-related neurocognitive and gait dysfunction. This study aims to assess the neural correlates of gait dysfunction in people with AD, evaluate if baseline neurocognitive impairment is predictive of the effects of RAS, and evaluate RAS benefits for individuals with AD.

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

Eligibility

Who can join

  • Age 50–90.
  • Live in the community, rather than a care facility.
  • Can walk for about 10–15 minutes without help from another person or a device, such as a cane.
  • Can communicate with the study team.
  • For the healthy group: have no Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
  • For the Alzheimer's group: meet the study's CERAD test rule for memory or other thinking skills, based on age and education.
  • For the Alzheimer's group: score 20–30 on the MoCA and 25–30 on the MMSE. These tests check memory and thinking skills.
  • Complete these tests in person after agreeing to join. People whose scores do not meet the study rules cannot stay in the study.

Who can't join

  • Have major hearing loss.
  • Have a bone, joint, brain, nerve, or other health condition that limits walking.

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

Official eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: General Inclusion (both healthy and AD populations): * Community-dwelling * Capable of walking short community distances (approximately 10-15 minutes at a time) without assistance from another person or a device (such as a cane). * Able to communicate with researchers * Age 50-90 (inclusive) Population-specific Inclusion criteria: * Healthy - * No diagnosis of AD * AD population- CERAD score of \<1.5 SD from age + education adjusted norms on delayed recall domain or one or more other cognitive domains (i.e. language, attention). MoCA score between 20-30 MMSE score between 25-30 Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of significant hearing impairment * Current orthopedic, neurologic or other medical condition that limits the ability to walk. The MOCA, MMSE and CERAD tests will be completed in-person after the participant consents into the study. If the participant is determined to be ineligible based on their performance on these tests (compared to inclusion requirements listed above), they will be informed that they are not eligible for this study and the study visit will be cancelled. They will then be withdrawn from the study; their clinical tests and study documentation will be maintained for the purposes of completeness, but will not be used for any study analyses.

Study sites (1)

MA