The Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to Study Implicit Motor Learning on Patients With Brain Injury

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to study motor learning and recovery of patients with brain damage caused by traumatic brain injury or stroke with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). It is hypothesized that anodal tDCS on the lesion side and/or cathodal tDCS on the healthy side of motor cortex could improve the recovery of motor function such as learning.

Detailed Description
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We aim to apply transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to study the recovery process of motor learning on the patients with brain damage caused by traumatic brain injury or stroke. Both anodal and cathodal tDCS will be used to test whether the increase of motor cortical activity by anodal tDCS over lesional side or the decrease of brain activity by cathodal tDCS on healthy side will improve the learning skill (SRTT: serial reaction time task). The result could help to understand the mechanism of motor and cognitive recovery after brain damage, and further rationalize the application of non-invasive brain stimulation such as tDCS for patient rehabilitation.

Official Title
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The Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to Study Implicit Motor Learning on Patients With Brain Injury

Conditions
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Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: TBI or stroke patients with partially preserved fine motor function Exclusion Criteria: with metal clips in head or device (e.g. pacemaker) with active CNS drugs

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: non-invasive brain stimulation<br> | Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation<br>* Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation<br>* Other names: Chanttanooga ionto Dual Channel Stimulator;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reaction time (millisecond) | Primary outcome measure is the average reaction time of 360 trials from each block -- the task is composed of 8 blocks. After intervention, 3 blocks will be re-tested for 3 times to evaluate the consolidating effect of tDCS on motor learning. | 24 hours post intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Error rate (percentage) | Secondary outcome measure is the error rate of each block which will be re-tested for 3 times after intervention. The aim is to evaluate the motor learning effect during and after tDCS. | 24 hours post intervention |