Zapping the brain to calm dementia agitation

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

Participants with AD+Agitation Inclusion: 1. Age 50 years or older. 2. Participant or substitute decision maker able and willing to provide informed consent. 3. Dementia due to probable or possible AD as defined by NIA-AA criteria. 4. Presence of mild to moderate agitation and/or aggression as defined by: Agitation in cognitive disorders. International Psychogeriatric Association Provisional Consensus Clinical and Research Definition. 5. Availability of a support person to accompany the participant to study appointments and provide collateral information as needed. 6. If taking medication for neuropsychiatric symptoms, the dose should be stable for at least 1 week. Exclusion: 1. Psychiatric diagnosis other than dementia significantly impacting the presentation. 2. Presence of delirium or other acute medical condition significantly contributing to agitation/aggression or making the study participation unsafe for a participant. 3. Any contraindication to TMS or tDCS. 4. Any other condition that in the opinion of principal investigator will make the study participation unsafe or non-feasible for the participant. 5. Currently taking anticonvulsants or benzodiazepines at a dose sufficient to cause interference with TMS-EEG. Participants with AD without aggression All the above inclusion/exclusion criteria except meeting the inclusion criterion 4 pertaining to agitation/aggression. Participants with significant agitation/aggression will be excluded from this group. Healthy comparator participants Inclusion: 1. Age 50 years or older. 2. Able and willing to provide informed consent. 3. Free from any significant neurological disorder. Exclusion: 1. Lifetime DSM-5 diagnosis other than simple phobias or adjustment disorder. 2. Any Contraindication to TMS. 3. Currently taking anticonvulsants or benzodiazepines at a dose sufficient to cause interference with TMS-EEG.