Investigating Accelerated Learning and Memory in Healthy Subjects Using a Face Name Memory Task

The University of Texas at Dallas30 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether we can accelerate learning and improve associative memory performance in healthy subjects by applying transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) during a Face Name memory task.

Associative memory refers to remembering the association between two items, such as a face and a name or a word in English and the same word in another language. It is not only important for learning, but it is also one of the first aspects of memory performance that is impacted by aging and by Alzheimer׳s disease. For decades, neuroscientists have investigated associative learning and memory and ways to accelerate and enhance associative learning and memory. Transcranial Direct Current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive and painless electrical stimulation technique that has demonstrated to accelerate learning and improve memory in some studies. To investigate whether we can accelerate learning and improve associative memory using tDCS, we will compare the performance in a Face Name Associate memory task from 2 groups. The first group will get active tDCS during the study phase of the Face Name Memory task, whereas the second group will get sham tDCS during the study phase of the task.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Healthy Adults

Interventions

tDCSDEVICE

active tDCS

sham tDCSDEVICE

sham tDCS

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 35 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Age: 18-35 years * Native English Speaker Exclusion Criteria: * History of severe head injuries, epileptic insults, or heart disease. * Severe psychiatric disorders and severe untreated medical problems. * Contraindications for tDCS (pregnant women, implanted devices)

Locations (1)

The University of Texas of Dallas

Richardson, Texas, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Associative Memory Assessed by a Face Name Associate Memory Experiment

All participants performed a face memory task .The face stimuli consisted of 120 grayscale pictures of human faces. Only faces with a neutral expression facing forward were selected. Half of the faces were male, and the other half were female. The face-name association memory task was divided into (1) an encoding phase, (2) a consolidation phase, and (3) a retrieval phase. During the encoding phase, participants studied 60 successively presented face-name pairs and were instructed to assess their gender to keep them focused to the task. The encoding phase was followed by a consolidation phase where participants were instructed to "sit still, relax, and think about nothing in particular" for 10 minutes, During the retrieval phase, participants were presented with 60 old and 60 new faces and were instructed to assess whether they have seen this face during the encoding phase. The outcome was the percent of Correct Name to Face Matches

Time frame: Associate Memory is assessed after a 10 minutes break following the study phase

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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