At a glance
ClinicalIndex Comparison Record- ✓Age 65 to 89 years
- ✓English speaking
- ✓Physically mobile
- ✓Working memory function between 0–75th percentile on POSIT Baseline Cognitive Training tasks
- ✕Neurological disorders (dementia, stroke, seizures, traumatic brain injury)
- ✕Evidence of dementia (NACC UDS scores ≥1.5 SD below age/sex/education-adjusted norms in single cognitive domain)
- ✕Past opportunistic brain infection
- ✕Major psychiatric illness (schizophrenia, intractable affective disorder, substance dependence, severe depression, suicidality)
Standardized by ClinicalIndex from the ClinicalTrials.gov record · verify against the source.
SMART Stimulation: Precision Neuromodulation of Cognition in Older Adults
In Brief
A clinical study evaluating tDCS and cognitive training for Aging. Completed, enrolled 33 participants across 1 site.
Detailed Summary
The current study will investigate methods for enhancing cognitive training (CT) effects in healthy older adults by employing a combination of interventions facilitating neural plasticity and optimizing readiness for learning. A pilot randomized clinical trial will examine the individual and combined impact of pairing cognitive training with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). A precision dosing algorithm will be used to determine the appropriate levels of current and location of electrodes to deliver current using tDCS.
Study Details
Timeline
Interventions
During tDCS, a weak electrical current is applied to the scalp that penetrates skin, bone, CSF and the meninges to stimulate underlying cortical and subcortical tissue
Cognitive Training (CT) will involve up to 10 hours of training over 2-weeks (10 days). CT employs a PositScience BrainHQ suite via its researcher portal. These tasks are web-based and multi-platform (i.e., Windows, Mac). Participants will be randomly assigned to training on 4 tasks focusing on working memory or 4 tasks focusing on attention/speed of processing.