Means to improve cognition in healthy elderly and patients with mild cognitive impairment – from training to non-invasive brain stimulation

Means to improve cognition in healthy elderly and patients with mild cognitive impairment – from training to non-invasive brain stimulation - Combination therapy of tACS and cognitive training for the treatment of MCI

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00025122

Enrollment

100

Registered

2021-05-10

Start date

2020-12-14

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-04-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment)

Interventions

Group 1: Active stimulation, cognitively healthy subjects: Combined therapy of tACS and cognitive training (16 appointments in a period of 6 weeks, 20 minutes each of alternating current stimulation

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

55 Years to 85 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or cognitive ability in the context of healthy aging. 2. The ability to voluntarily give consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Pacemakers, deep brain stimulation 2. Intracerebral metal implants (e.g. clips after surgery of an intracerebral aneurysms, implantation of an artificial cochlea) 3. Evidence of epileptic seizures or stroke in the medical history. 4. Age 85 years. 5. Craniocerebral trauma with loss of consciousness in the previous history 6. Presence of a serious internal or neurological disease (e.g. untreated tumors, cancer) 7. Serious neurological or psychiatric diseases (except MCI) (schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, severe depression) 8. Glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa 9. blood pressure > 160/100 Hgmm 10. OPs within the last three months 11. Chemotherapy within the last 12 months 12. Alcohol, medicine and drug addiction 13. Receptive or global aphasia (disturbance of speech understanding or additionally of speaking) 14. Drugs at the time of inclusion (Neuroleptics, Benzodiazepines, Antiepileptic drugs) 15. Participation in another clinical trial within the last 8 weeks

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The primary outcome is an improved cognitive performance measured by the Paired associate learning (PAL) test. The PAL test is administered immediately before the start of the stimulation series (baseline level), immediately after the stimulation series (immediate effects), and 3 months after the completion of the stimulation series (long-term effects).	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The secondary outcome is an improved cognitive performance measured by the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVL), the Corsi block-tapping task (CORSI), the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Craft Story 21, the Attention network test (ANT), the Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task and the Sustained Attention to Response task (SART). Tests will be administered immediately before the start of the stimulation series (baseline level), immediately after the stimulation series (immediate effects), and 3 months after the completion of the stimulation series (long-term effects). Another secondary endpoint is improved performance on the N-Back Task, which is used for cognitive training during brain stimulation, i.e., 16 appointments.	—

Measure

Time frame

The secondary outcome is an improved cognitive performance measured by the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVL), the Corsi block-tapping task (CORSI), the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Craft Story 21, the Attention network test (ANT), the Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task and the Sustained Attention to Response task (SART). Tests will be administered immediately before the start of the stimulation series (baseline level), immediately after the stimulation series (immediate effects), and 3 months after the completion of the stimulation series (long-term effects). Another secondary endpoint is improved performance on the N-Back Task, which is used for cognitive training during brain stimulation, i.e., 16 appointments.

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Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactLukas Diedrich

Klinik für Neurologie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen

lukas.diedrich@med.uni-goettingen.de0551/398457

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026