Enhancing Neuroplasticity and Frontal Lobe Function in Patients With Mild Alzheimer's Disease (TMS-AD)
Alzheimer's Disease
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Alzheimer's Disease focused on measuring Alzheimer's Disease, Brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria for patients:
- Age 65 or above
- Meet NINCDS-ADRDA and DSM-IV TR criteria for a current diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
- Stable does of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for at least 3 months
- Willingness and ability to speak English
- Willingness and ability to provide informed consent
- Corrected visual ability that enables reading of newspaper headlines and corrected hearing capacity that is adequate to respond to a raised conversational voice.
Exclusion Criteria for patients:
- Meets criteria for an Axis I diagnosis within the past 12 months other than Dementia of the Alzheimer type.
- Mini Mental Status Examination score of 16 or less as described above
- Meets diagnostic criteria for current alcohol or other drug dependence within 6 months of testing
- Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) within 6 months of testing.
- Left handedness.
- Incompetency to consent
- Any contraindication for TMS
Inclusion Criteria for healthy controls:
- Age 65 or above
- Willingness and ability to speak English
- Willingness and ability to provide informed consent
- Corrected visual ability that enables reading of newspaper headlines and corrected hearing capacity that is adequate to respond to a raised conversational voice.
Exclusion Criteria for healthy controls:
- Meets criteria for an Axis I diagnosis other than simple phobias or adjustment disorder.
- Other neurological disorder affecting central nervous system.
- Psychotropic medication except for sedative /hypnotics at a stable dose for at least 4 weeks.
- Left handedness
- Any contraindication for TMS
Sites / Locations
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Experimental
Placebo Comparator
Other
Alzheimer's disease-rPAS
Alzheimer's disease-rPAS-C
Control
The intervention procedure will done in this group is r-Paired Associative Stimulation. This involves the repetitive pairing of electrical stimulation of the median nerve with - 25 ms later - transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the contralateral DLPFC
The intervention procedure being done with this group is PAS-C. This is a control Paired Associative Stimulation paradigm in which TMS to the left DLPFC follows the electrical stimulation of the right median nerve by 100 ms, and, thus, does not result in contemporaneous occurrence of the two stimulations in the cortex and consequently no LTP.
Controls will have a one time Paired Associative Stimulation-Control (PAS-C) paradigm intervention in which TMS to the left DLPFC follows the electrical stimulation of the right median nerve by 100 ms, and, thus, does not result in contemporaneous occurrence of the two stimulations in the cortex and consequently no LTP.