Neuromodulation and Language Acquisition (Project Stage Ia)

Improved Language Acquisition Through Neuromodulation, Project Stage Ia

Status

Terminated

Phases

Phase 4

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00102284

Enrollment

100

Registered

2005-01-27

Start date

2004-03-31

Completion date

2005-04-30

Last updated

2010-01-27

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

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

language acquisition, plasticity, stroke recovery, associative learning

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether levodopa, pergolid, rivastigmine, or modafinil are effective in boosting semantic language acquisition in healthy subjects.

Detailed description

Our prior work shows that d-amphetamine and the dopamine precursor levodopa markedly improve word learning success in healthy subjects. In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, we probe whether a mixed d1/d2 dopamine agonist (pergolid) or cholinergic neuromodulation (rivastigmine) or a general centrally arousing substance (modafinil) will yield a learning enhancement comparable to using levodopa in healthy subjects. Our results show that the dopamine agonist pergolide impaired learning in healthy subjects compared to placebo, whereas cholinergic neuromodulation had no effect.

Interventions

DRUGlevodopa

DRUGrivastigmine

DRUGpergolid

DRUGmodafinil

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

20 Years to 35 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Healthy subjects * 20-35 years old * Right handedness * Left language dominance (as assessed by functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonography \[fTCD\])

Exclusion criteria

* Neurological/psychiatric/metabolic/cardiac disorders * Asthma * Known allergic reactions to one of the experimental drugs * Other drugs affecting the central nervous system * Leisure drug ingestion during the past 4 weeks (urine test) * Smoking cessation during the past 2 weeks * \> 6 cups of coffee or energy drinks per day * \> 10 cigarettes per day * \> 50 grams of alcohol per day

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Boost in language learning success through neuromodulation	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Stability of language learning success	—

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026