Premotor Cortex: A New Target for Stroke Motor Rehabilitation
Stroke
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Stroke focused on measuring Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
Motor training only (pilot participants):
- Have the ability to give informed, written consent
- Be aged 18-80 years old
- Be right-handed using the Edinburgh handedness inventory
- Have intact cognitive abilities (score higher than 75th percentile on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS))
- No current depression (score less than 7 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS))
- No neurological disease
- No contradictions to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
- TMS over the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) hotspot must evoke a motor evoked potential (MEP) in the ECU muscle
- MEP amplitude must increase by at least 20% as the TMS intensity increases
- The subjects must be comfortable when receiving TMS of all strengths.
Remaining study participants:
- Have the ability to give informed, written consent
- Be aged 55-80 years old
- Be right-handed using the Edinburgh handedness inventory
- Have intact cognitive abilities (score higher than 75th percentile on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS))
- No current depression (score less than a 7 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS))
- No neurological disease
- No contradictions to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
- TMS over the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) hotspot must be able to evoke a motor evoked potential (MEP) in the ECU muscle
- MEP amplitude must increase by at least 20% as the TMS intensity increases
- The subjects must be comfortable when receiving TMS of all strengths.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Impaired cognitive abilities (score lesser than 75th percentile on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS))
- Current depression (score more than 7 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS))
- Neurological disease
- Has a contradiction to TMS
- MEP cannot be evoked with TMS in the ECU muscle
- Inability to tolerate one or more TMS strengths
Sites / Locations
- Emory University
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Experimental
Single motor training only
Repetitive TMS during motor training
For a pilot experiment, healthy, right-handed subjects will complete one testing session. During the testing session, subjects will complete motor training. The results of this experiment will determine the motor training protocol used in the main experiment.
Healthy, right-handed subjects will complete five testing sessions. During each testing session, subjects will complete motor training while receiving one of five repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocols. Subjects will receive a different rTMS protocol at each testing session. By the end of the study, each subject will have received all rTMS protocols.