Study protocol of transcranial electrical stimulation at alpha frequency applied during rehabilitation: A randomized controlled trial in chronic stroke patients with visuospatial neglect

BMC Neurology

卷:22

Study Protocol

Tanja Nijboer¹  Caroline van Heugten²  Marij Middag-van Spanje³  Teresa Schuhmann⁴  Olof van der Werf⁴  Alexander T. Sack⁵ 

[1] Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, Utrecht, The Netherlands;

[2] Limburg Brain Injury Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands;

[3] Section Brain Stimulation and Cognition, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;InteraktContour, Nunspeet, The Netherlands;

[4] Section Brain Stimulation and Cognition, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;

[5] Section Brain Stimulation and Cognition, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;

关键词: Stroke;    Visuospatial neglect;    Visual scanning training;    Transcranial electrical stimulation;    Transcranial alternating current stimulation;    Randomized controlled trial;    Activities of daily living;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12883-022-02932-7

 received in 2022-07-28, accepted in 2022-10-24,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundA frequent post stroke disorder in lateralized attention is visuospatial neglect (VSN). As VSN has a strong negative impact on recovery in general and independence during daily life, optimal treatment is deemed urgent. Next to traditional stroke treatment, non-invasive brain stimulation offers the potential to facilitate stroke recovery as a complementary approach. In the present study, visual scanning training (VST; the current conventional treatment) will be combined with transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to evaluate the additive effects of repeated sessions of tACS in combination with six-weeks VST rehabilitation.MethodsIn this double-blind randomized placebo-controlled intervention study (RCT), we will compare the effects of active tACS plus VST to sham (placebo) tACS plus VST, both encompassing 18 VST training sessions, 40 minutes each, during 6 weeks. Chronic stroke patients with VSN (> 6 months post-stroke onset) are considered eligible for study participation. In total 22 patients are needed for the study. The primary outcome is change in performance on a cancellation task. Secondary outcomes are changes in performance on a visual detection task, two line bisection tasks, and three measures to assess changes in activities of daily living. Assessment is at baseline, directly after the first and ninth training session, after the last training session (post training), and 1 week and 3 months after termination of the training (follow-up).DiscussionIf effective, a tACS-VST rehabilitation program could be implemented as a treatment option for VSN.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov; registration number: NCT05466487; registration date: July 18, 2022 retrospectively registered; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05466487

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

【 图 表 】

Fig. 3