tDCS in the Management of Post-COVID Disorders (tDCS)
Long COVID
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Long COVID focused on measuring Long COVID, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome, Fatigue, Pain, Cognitive Dysfunction, Depression, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Long COVID-19 (>3 months) The presence of at least one of the following symptoms, after diagnosed SARS-COV-2 infection: Persistent pain Fatigue Depressed mood Cognitive impairment Exclusion Criteria: Hemodynamic instability Historic of use or abuse of drugs or alcohol Use of medications that may interfere with the study results (anti-inflammatories and antibiotics) Metallic implant in skull and face Implant in the central nervous system Pacemaker
Sites / Locations
- Applied Neuroscience Laboratory-LANARecruiting
- Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Science and Technology
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Arm 4
Experimental
Sham Comparator
Experimental
Sham Comparator
Pain/fatigue tDCS real
Pain/fatigue tDCS sham
Cognitive deficit and depressed mood tDCS real
Cognitive deficit and depressed mood tDCS sham
tDCS will be applied for 30 minutes (2 mA; 0.057 mA/cm²) during motor training. The anode will be positioned in the area referring to the left motor cortex (C3). The cathode will be positioned in the contralateral supraorbital region. Motor Training: the participant will be positioned on the mat where the initial 5 minutes will be warmed up with the target heart rate maintained at 50-60% of the maximum heart rate. The treadmill speed must be adjusted to keep the HR within the pre-established target range. At 5 minutes, Borg scale values, treadmill speed and HR should be recorded. The central 20 minutes will be considered the main part. For this, the target HR must be maintained between 64-76% of the maximum HR. Every 5 minutes (minutes 10, 15, 20 and 25) the values of the Borg scale, treadmill speed and HR must be recorded. In the final 5 minutes, the target HR must be kept below 60% of the maximum HR. Totaling 30 minutes of training on the treadmill.
tDCS will be applied for 30 seconds (2 mA; 0.057 mA/cm²) during motor training. The anode will be positioned in the area referring to the left motor cortex (C3). The cathode will be positioned in the contralateral supraorbital region. Motor Training: the participant will be positioned on the mat where the initial 5 minutes will be warmed up with the target heart rate maintained at 50-60% of the maximum heart rate. The treadmill speed must be adjusted to keep the HR within the pre-established target range. At 5 minutes, Borg scale values, treadmill speed and HR should be recorded. The central 20 minutes will be considered the main part. For this, the target HR must be maintained between 64-76% of the maximum HR. Every 5 minutes (minutes 10, 15, 20 and 25) the values of the Borg scale, treadmill speed and HR must be recorded. In the final 5 minutes, the target HR must be kept below 60% of the maximum HR. Totaling 30 minutes of training on the treadmill.
tDCS will be applied for 30 minutes (2 mA; 0.057 mA/cm²) during cognitive training. For volunteers with symptoms of depressed mood and/or cognitive impairment, the anode will be positioned in the area of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) and cognitive training will be performed. The cathode will be positioned in the contralateral supraorbital region. Cognitive Training: For cognitive training, performed during tDCS, a n-Back task will be performed online in the PsyToolkit (https://www.psytoolkit.org/). A previous study demonstrated the benefit of tDCS when combined with this cognitive training on working memory learning curves.
tDCS will be applied for 30 seconds (2 mA; 0.057 mA/cm²) during cognitive training. For volunteers with symptoms of depressed mood and/or cognitive impairment, the anode will be positioned in the area of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) and cognitive training will be performed. The cathode will be positioned in the contralateral supraorbital region. Cognitive Training: For cognitive training, performed during tDCS, a n-Back task will be performed online in the PsyToolkit (https://www.psytoolkit.org/). A previous study demonstrated the benefit of tDCS when combined with this cognitive training on working memory learning curves.