Clinical Research Directory

The participants are randomized into the block design of sham or tACS during the first three appointments or the last three appointments. Eye tracking will be used to test the predominant focus of decisions during the gaze phase on costs or difficulty levels during the COGED. The study is investigating the use of neuromodulation after TBI for improved cognitive function.

The COGED task consists of the classic N-back task of working memory-based decision making, followed by a valuation phase. The N-back phase of the task allows calculation of cognitive performance of a working memory task. During valuation, participants receive titrating offers of differing amounts of money to perform different difficulty levels of the N-back. The result is an effort discounting curve used to measure the individual effort cost. Effort discounting curves show the perceived cognitive effort required to complete each level of the task relative to another (typically the 1-back).