Recruiting

PFC tDCS

Sponsor:

UCLA

Code:

NCT04885322

Conditions

Healthy

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 50

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to better understand the neural correlates of higher-order cognition, both in the healthy brain and in schizophrenia, and to determine how these mechanisms are modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) at frontal and occipital scalp sites. Testing the effects of tDCS at these scalp sites on cognitive task performance will help us understand the roles of the brain regions corresponding to these sites during higher-order cognitive processing (language comprehension, cognitive control, and related attention and memory processes). Behavioral and electrophysiological (EEG) measures will be used to assess cognitive performance. Our overarching hypothesis is that stimulating prefrontal circuits with tDCS can improve cognitive control performance, and ultimately performance on a range of cognitive tasks, as compared to stimulating a different cortical region (occipital cortex) or using sham stimulation.

This study is solely intended as basic research in order to understand brain function in healthy individuals and individuals with schizophrenia. This study is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat schizophrenia or any other disease.

Conditions

Healthy

Study ID

NCT04885322

Start date

Apr 14, 2021

Status verified date

Dec, 2025

Completion date

Jun 30, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 30, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 50

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • between ages of 18 and 50
  • ability to sufficiently speak and understand English so as to be able to understand and complete cognitive tasks
  • ability to give valid informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • no history of head trauma
  • no current or previous history of treatment with psychotropic medication
  • corrected vision 20/30 or better
  • tDCS/MRI contraindications, including: pregnancy, ferrous metal in any part of the body, serious medical conditions, claustrophobia, metallic implants, skin damage, conditions such as eczema at electrode sites, cranial pathologies

Study Design

Enrollment

75 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: DLPFC Stimulation

Intervention. 20 minutes of 2 mA direct current stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

experimental: Occipital Stimulation

Intervention. 20 minutes of 2 mA direct current stimulation over the occipital cortex.

sham comparator: Sham Stimulation

Placebo Comparator. 0.5-1 minutes of 2 mA direct current stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex followed by 19-19.5 minutes of sham stimulation

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

In tDCS, saline-soaked electrodes are temporary affixed to the scalp and connected to a battery-powered current generator. A weak (2 mA) constant current is then briefly applied (\~20 minutes) to stimulate the targeted brain area. The targeted brain area is determined by the Study Arm.

Primary outcome measure

  • Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Stroop Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • EEG Cognitive Control Measures on the Stroop Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • Behavioral Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Stroop Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task Behavioral Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • EEG Cognitive Control Measures on the Change Detection Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • Behavioral Attention Lapse Measures on the Change Detection Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • EEG Attention Lapse Measures on the Change Detection Task [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]
  • Delivered tDCS Dose to PFC [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 month ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Minhtrang Chu

1-916-734-1482mihchu@ucdavis.edu

Locations

Imaging Research Center

Recruiting

Sacramento, California, United States, 95817

Contacts

Vanessa Zarubin, BS/BA

916-734-3749vczarubin@ucdavis.edu

Principal Investigator:

Cameron Carter, M.D.

More Information

Sponsor

University of California, Davis

Last update posted

Dec 5, 2025

Last verified

Dec, 2025

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of California, Davis on 2025-12-05.