Influence of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cortical Plasticity in Concussed Athletes

Influence of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cortical Plasticity in Concussed Athletes and Healthy Volunteers

Status

UNKNOWN

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01593956

Enrollment

Registered

2012-05-08

Start date

2012-03-31

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2013-05-23

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

Conditions

Concussed Athletes, Healthy Controls

Brief summary

Concussed athlethes have discrete decreased abilities in motor learning. Recent research could further show, that cortical plasticity, as measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is reduced. This is possibly due to an increased GABAergic activity, what have been found in concussed athletes by paired pulse protocols in TMS. GABAergic acitivty can be modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in a polar-specific manner: anodal tDCS was able to decrease GABA, whereas cathodal tDCS increased tDCS. Our study aimes to assess the influence of anodal tDCS on cortical plsticity in concussed athlethes. We hypothesize, that anodal tDCS is able to increase cortical plsticity in concussed athlethes.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALtDCS

Study design

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* history of at least 2 sports concussion * age 18 - 50 years

Exclusion criteria

* structural deficit on cerebral MRI * Epilepsy * neurological disorder * intake of CNS-active drugs

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Improvement of cortical plasticity after anodal tDCS in concussed athletes	—

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

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