Pathways Relating Amnestic MCI to a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury History
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Summary
This study will probe if the biological changes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are related to a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) using high definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) and blood-derived biomarker tools. Participants who Do as well as those who Do Not have a history of mTBI will be enrolled in the study.
Description
Ten study visits will be completed by each participant. The initial visit will include a blood draw and a baseline memory evaluation. Afterwards, participants will be randomized to begin with one of 3 conditions of HD-tDCS. The three conditions are sham-control, active stimulation to frontal region, and active stimulation to left temporal region. All participants will be expected to completed each HD-tDCS condition, which will be counterbalanced and separated by 14 days. Active HD-tDCS will be applied at 2 mA for 30 minutes over 3 consecutive daily sessions while sham stimulation will be appli…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 55+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Active diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment 2. Presence of an mTBI history for the mTBI+ group; absence of an mTBI history for a control sample 3. Female and male subjects 4. All races/ethnicities 5. Age 55 years and older 6. Fluent in English Exclusion Criteria: 1. Mild traumatic brain injury within past year 2. Lifetime history of moderate or severe brain injury 3. Lifetime major neurologic syndromes (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, brain tumor) 4. Lifetime major cardiovascular conditions (e.g., heart attack, heart failure) 5. Current substance use disorder 6. Cu…
Interventions
- DeviceHigh Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
HD-tDCS for this study is not intended to be a treatment, and will be applied continuously for 30 minutes at sham (0 mA) or 2 mA for active conditions across 3 consecutive daily sessions to probe neural circuit integrity. This specific HD-tDCS device is completely computer driven, running on a laptop using specialized software. Circular electrodes (12-mm in diameter) filled with conductive gel will be placed in a 4x1 ring configuration with the central electrode being the anode surrounded by four cathodes.
Location
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterDallas, Texas