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Parkinson DiseaseBehavioralDevice

What this study is

The goal of this clinical trial is to develop non-invasive brain stimulation targets for the treatment of apathy, or motivation problems, in Parkinson Disease.

The main questions the study aims to answer are:

1. Does transcranial magnetic stimulation change effort task performance in Parkinson's Disease patients? 2. Is there a link between brain signals and apathy?

Participants will

  • complete questionnaires and assessments
  • perform an effort task
  • have their brain activity recorded (EEG)
  • receive non-invasive brain stimulation (TMS)

Researchers will compare two stimulation locations (experimental site and control site) to see if TMS of the experimental site has an effect on apathy. Participants will receive stimulation of both sites (during separate visits).

What's being tested

  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

    Intervention · DEVICE

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (or TMS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation in which a magnetic pulse is applied directly to the scalp. TMS is FDA approved for the treatment of depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders and is regularly used in neurologic and psychiatric research. ITBS is a particular TMS protocol which delivers the magnetic field in triplet bursts (three stimulations very close together at a frequency of 50 Hz). The triplet bursts are repeated at a rate of 5 Hz for 2 seconds (30 pulses), followed by 8 seconds rest, repeated 20 times for a total of 600 pulses. Each treatment lasts approximately 3 minutes.

Study details

Official title
Investigation of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Apathy
Sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Conditions
Parkinson Disease
Enrolling
60 people
Starts
2024-05-01
Est. completion
2027-06-30
Design
Single-blind, randomized, crossover
Record
View on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗