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Non-invasive Deep Brain Stimulation to Improve Spatial Navigation Abilities in Individuals Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Sponsor: Friedhelm Hummel
Summary
Impairments in spatial memory and spatial navigation are commonly reported amongst patients presenting post-traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this study, the investigators examine the effect of non-invasive deep brain stimulation of the hippocampal-entorhinal complex (HC-EC), a key region supporting navigation abilities, on spatial navigation performance in TBI patients. Using a virtual reality task where participants must first encode and later recall the location of objects in a virtual arena, the investigators contrast performance while active versus control stimulation is applied to the HC-EC. The investigators additionally record brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG) prior to, during, and after task performance to characterize the neural correlates of spatial navigation abilities in TBI patients, and how they are affected by stimulation.
Official title: Investigation of the Plasticity of Deep Brain Structures in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Aging (PlasMA)
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
25
Start Date
2025-12
Completion Date
2027-12
Last Updated
2025-12-09
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Transcranial electric stimulation
Transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) is an innovative non-invasive brain stimulation approach, in which two or more independent stimulation channels deliver high-frequency currents in the kHz range (oscillating at f1 and f1 + Δf). These high-frequency currents are assumed to be too high to effectively modulate neuronal activity. Still, by applying a small shift in frequency, they result in a modulated electric field with the envelope oscillating at the low-frequency Δf (target frequency) where the two currents overlap. The peak of the modulated envelope amplitude can be steered towards specific areas located deep in the brain, by tuning the positions of the electrodes and the current ratio across stimulation channels. Here, the investigators apply tTIS via surface electrodes applying a low-intensity, sub-threshold protocol following the safety guidelines for low-intensity transcranial electric stimulation in humans.
Locations (2)
EPFL, Campus Biotech
Geneva, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
EPFL Valais, Clinique Romande de readaptation
Sion, Valais, Switzerland