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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04231825

At-home Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation During Multitasking

The goal is to replicate in-lab results from transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) with at-home tACS.

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Key information

Conditions

Multitasking Behavior Behavior

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Sandler Neurosciences Center

San Francisco, California, 94158, United States

About this study

Participants will be assessed in-lab on multitasking and sustained attention abilities. Participants will be sent home with a tACS device to be used at-home for five days while engaged in a multitasking paradigm that is different from the multitasking outcome measure used pre/post tACS. After the at-home stimulation is complete, participants return to UCSF for a final in-lab assessment of multitasking and sustained attention ability.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • English speaking
  • Grade 12 or more education
  • Normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing
  • Ability to complete cognitive tasks
  • Ability to cooperate and comply with all study procedures
  • Ability to tolerate tACS

Exclusion criteria

  • Neurological or psychiatric disorders
  • Family history of epilepsy
  • History of seizures
  • Prior head trauma
  • Pregnant
  • Implanted electronic devices (e.g., pacemaker)
  • IQ < 80
  • Taking psychotropic medication
  • Taking anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication
  • Substance abuse
  • Color blind
  • Glaucoma
  • Macular degeneration
  • Amblyopia
  • Strabismus

Treatment and study plan

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

Device

Transcranial alternating current stimulation across the prefrontal cortex using electrodes F3 and F4.

Primary outcomes

  1. Multitasking Performance Cost (Neuroracer Performance Change From Baseline)

    Time frame: Pre-tACS and post-tACS (1 week later)

    Assessment of multitasking ability using change from baseline scores in d' cost (metric of discriminability). Discrimination performance (d') was measured for each participant by comparing hit (correct responses to target signs) rates and false alarm (responses to non-targets) rates and calculated as d' = Z (hits) - Z (false alarms). d' cost was then calculated as the ratio of d' during single task target discrimination task to multitask target discrimination, expressed as percentage cost.

  2. Single Task Performance Change

    Time frame: Pre-tACS and post-tACS (1 week later)

    Discrimination performance (d') was measured during single task performance for each participant by comparing hit (correct responses to target signs) rates and false alarm (responses to non-targets) rates and calculated as d' = Z (hits) - Z (false alarms). Performance data was collected during the single task condition.

  3. Multitask Performance Change

    Time frame: Pre-tACS and post-tACS (1 week later)

    Discrimination performance (d') was measured while multitasking for each participant by comparing hit (correct responses to target signs) rates and false alarm (responses to non-targets) rates and calculated as d' = Z (hits) - Z (false alarms). Performance data was collected during the multitask condition.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Continuous Performance Test RT Change (Test of Visual Attention / Sustained Attention)

    Time frame: Pre-tACS and post-tACS (1 week later)

    Assessment of sustained attention ability using response time (in ms) during the continuous performance test

  2. Continuous Performance Test RTV Change (Test of Visual Attention / Sustained Attention)

    Time frame: Pre-tACS and post-tACS (1 week later)

    Assessment of sustained attention ability using response time variability (standard deviation of response times in ms) during the continuous performance test

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Jan 18, 2020
Registry last updated
Mar 21, 2022

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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