Understanding Electrical Stimulation and Walking Practice on Brain-Muscle Connections
This study, NCT06430164, is exploring how electrical stimulation and walking practice affect the connections between your brain and muscles. Researchers are using gait training (walking on a treadmill) and two types of electrical stimulation: Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) to leg muscles, and Peripheral Electrical Stimulation paired with Cortical Magnetic Stimulation pulses to measure brain-muscle connections. The goal is to understand how these methods might improve walking in the future for people like older adults or stroke survivors. You might be eligible if you are 18-65 years old, healthy, can walk at least 10 meters, and can follow instructions. The study aims to measure your walking performance and the excitability (how easily they can be activated) of your brain and spinal cord circuits before, during, and after the interventions. The current recruitment status is unclear.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study planning to enroll 50 healthy participants. It is not specified if it is randomized or blinded.
- What's involved
- You would have 1-5 study visits, each lasting up to 5 hours. You will participate in stepping training with or without electrical stimulation to your leg muscles, and noninvasive stimulation to your brain or leg nerves.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Measurements are taken pre-test, during the test (up to 36 minutes), and post-test (up to 60 seconds).
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
AB Gait Estim Neurophysiology
At a glance
Conditions
Where it's being run
1 sites across 1 statesStudy leadership
- Trisha Kesar, PT, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Emory University
Who to contact
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Do you actually qualify for this trial?
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Gait PerformancePretest (up to 60 seconds), during test (up to 36 minutes), post-test (up to 60 seconds)
Marker data will be collected using a 7-camera motion analysis system at 120 Hz (Vicon, Oxford, UK). During treadmill walking, ground reaction forces during the treadmill walking will be collected using a treadmill instrumented with two 6-component force platforms under each belt (Bertec, USA). Ground reaction forces will be evaluated using a force plate embedded within the lab floor (AMTI, USA).
- Corticospinal excitabilityPretest (up to 60 seconds), during test (up to 36 minutes), post-test (up to 60 seconds)
Corticospinal excitability will be assessed using a non-invasive technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS will be delivered using MagStim Stimulators with a double circular coil, custom-built double-cone, or batwing coil (Magstim Ltd, Wales, UK). Electrical activity from muscles in response to the TMS will be collected using surface EMG electrodes attached to muscles that play critical roles during walking (e.g., quadriceps femoris, tibialis anterior, soleus, gastrocnemius, hamstrings, etc.). In addition, EMG signals may be recorded from a couple of upper extremity muscles (e.g., first dorsal interosseus, flexor digitorum indicis) to be used as a control.
- Spinal circuit excitabilityPretest (up to 60 seconds), during test (up to 36 minutes), post-test (up to 60 seconds)
Spinal excitability may be assessed using peripheral electrical stimulation delivered to the nerves innervating the ankle muscles. The methods for electrical stimulation are similar to those used for delivering functional electrical stimulation except that the subjects are seated and the stimulation is used to obtain outcome measures assessing spinal excitability. Muscles of interest are the soleus and medial gastrocnemius (calf muscles), and tibialis anterior (front of lower leg). EMG activity will be recorded while 50-60 electrical stimuli (short 1 ms square pulses, ranging in intensity from 1mA - 80 mA), 7-10 seconds apart, are delivered to the muscle. Researchers may also deliver 5-20 electrical stimulus pulses at intensities that elicit a percentage of the maximum reflex response.