Degree of habitual behaviour modulation of non-invasive brain stimulation effects on cognitive flexibility in healthy participants.
Murdoch University
30 participants
Jun 14, 2022
Interventional
Conditions
Summary
We are trying to establish whether the degree to which one self-reports to be low or high in habitual behaviour can in turn affect the efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation on measures of cognitive flexibility. Our hypothesis is that performance on cognitive flexibility will be worst for those high in habitual behaviour when receiving inhibitory non-invasive brain stimulation but not during control/sham stimulation.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria3
- You are aged between 18 and 50 years (the upper age limit of 50 years has been selected as there is some evidence that mild cognitive decline begins past this age)
- You are in good health
- You agree to fast 3 hours prior to testing (only water or herbal tea allowed) (glucose levels are known to modulate performance in several cognitive domains. By having all participants fast for 3 hours prior to testing, we can rule out an enhancing effect of glucose on the cognitive flexibility task).
Exclusion Criteria9
- Participants will not be able to participate if they:
- Suffer from cardiac, hepatic, renal, and/or neurological disorders
- Have damaged or diseased skin on your face and scalp, or a sensitive scalp
- Have a history of alcohol or drug addiction, or severe psychiatric illness
- Are receiving drug treatment which may lower seizure threshold (i.e. epilepsy)
- Are pregnant
- Are sleep deprived (less than 6 hours a day)
- Have metallic dental fillings, orthodontic appliances, a cardiac pacemaker, cochlear
- implant, and/or surgical clips
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Interventions
In this study, all participants will first complete a self-report report measure of habitual behaviour called Creatures of Habit Scale. Second, they will then complete a well-established neuropsychological measure of cognitive flexbility known as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The test will be administered in the lab using a piece of software called PEBL. Third, they will undergo either cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) or sham (control). The order of tDCS allocation will be randomized for each participant. To avoid potential carryover effects of tDCS, as this is a crossover design, each session will be separated by at least 72 hours. A current at 1.5 mA will be delivered for 10 minutes while the participant is relaxed plus the additional duration of the Wisconsin Card Sorting test (approximately 7 minutes) with additional 30-second fade-in/fade-out periods. A current of 1.5 mA has been selected because 2.0 mA can compromise tDCS blinding in repeated measures/crossover designs. Testing will be carried out by an honours research student supervised by the PI and carried out in the Mind & Body lab at Murdoch University.
Locations(1)
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ACTRN12622000871741