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Can a gentle brain current help Parkinson's patients learn movements again?

NCT ID NCT04606979

Symptom relief Sponsor: Vrije Universiteit Brussel Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Aug 24, 2026 · Last updated Aug 25, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study investigates whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive technique that applies a mild electrical current to the scalp, can enhance implicit motor sequence learning—the ability to learn movement patterns without conscious effort—in people with Parkinson's disease and age-matched healthy controls. Participants will perform a serial reaction time task while receiving either active or sham tDCS over the primary motor cortex. The trial measures immediate effects, as well as short-term (five minutes) and long-term (one week) consolidation, to see if tDCS can support motor skill retention, which could be valuable for rehabilitation.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique using a mild electrical current delivered through scalp electrodes
What this could lead to
If tDCS enhances motor learning, it could become a supportive tool in rehabilitation for people with Parkinson's disease, potentially improving their ability to relearn movements.
What could go wrong
This is a small early-stage study, and previous research in Parkinson's has shown null effects. The benefit may be limited to certain learning phases or not translate to real-world function.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

30 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Oct 2020

Finished

Feb 2024

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

55 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * diagnosed with the idiopathic form of PD by a neurologist (PD subjects only) * Dutch or French speaking * sufficient upper limb motor skills to perform the SRT-task (determined by means of a practice version of the SRT-task consisting of one block of 50 random trials) * able to signal pain or discomfort * able to give informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * additional neurological disorders * any of the following tDCS contra-indications: deep brain stimulator; pacemaker; head wound; skin condition of the scalp; a history of epilepsy

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Parkinson disease

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Healthy Parkinson Parkinson disease

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel

    Brussels, Brussels Capital, 1050, Belgium

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