Primed vs. Unprimed rTMS in Chronic Stroke
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01757821. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
6-Hz Primed vs. Unprimed Low-Frequency rTMS in Chronic Stroke
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
The goal of stroke rehabilitation is to restore function to the weak side of the body. However, this is often a difficult task to accomplish due to not only to damage from the stroke, but from increased excitability in the non-stroke side of the brain that inhibits the stroke side from functioning optimally. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation that can enhance excitability in the stroke side when applied at a low-frequency on the non-stroke side. By "inhibiting the inhibition" (i.e. disinhibition), rTMS promotes adaptive brain reorganization following stroke. Previous research in healthy individuals demonstrates enhanced effects of low-frequency rTMS when it is preceded by high-frequency (excitatory) rTMS stimulation known as priming. Our lab previously demonstrated the safety of 6-Hz priming with low-frequency rTMS in both adults and children with chronic stroke. However, it is currently unknown whether or not the addition of priming stimulation to low-frequency rTMS enhances excitability in the stroke hemisphere. Our study will examine three rTMS interventions in twelve adults (at least 18 years): 1.) 10 minutes of real priming followed by 10 minutes of low-frequency rTMS, 2.) 10 minutes of fake priming followed by 10 minutes of low-frequency rTMS, 3.) 20 minutes of low-frequency rTMS only. Participants will receive all three interventions in randomized order. Each week, participants will complete two pretest and 3 posttest sessions consisting of behavioral measures of weak upper extremity function and cortical excitability in addition to receiving one rTMS intervention. Following each week of testing and treatment, subjects will take a one week rest break before crossing-over to receive another intervention. We hypothesize the following: 1.) Primed rTMS will result in significantly reduced inhibition and significantly increased excitation on the stroke side vs. fake primed rTMS or low-frequency rTMS given alone and 2.) Primed rTMS will result in greater improvements of paretic hand function. This study is innovative in that it intends to compare primed and unprimed rTMS in the stroke brain that could acknowledge a more effective delivery method of rTMS to potentially yield greater rehabilitative outcomes.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT01757821
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 11 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- real 6-Hz primed low-frequency rTMS Device
- Sham 6-Hz Primed low-frequency rTMS Device
- real 1-Hz rTMS only Device
Device
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Mar 31, 2013
- Primary completion
- Jun 30, 2014
- Completion
- Jun 30, 2014
- Last update posted
- Dec 1, 2017
2013 – 2014
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Minnesota | Minneapolis | Minnesota | 55455 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01757821, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Dec 1, 2017 · Synced Sep 5, 2026
Related: full search, browse by condition, browse by drug or therapy, browse by sponsor, browse by U.S. city.
Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT01757821 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.