Effects of Brain Stimulation on Learning and Reasoning

Launched by NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE (NINDS) · Nov 3, 1999

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The human frontal cortex subserves a number of psychological processes including those necessary for adequate implicit learning of visuomotor sequences and analogical reasoning.

1. Implicit learning is a form of procedural learning indicated by behavioral improvement without awareness of a repeated stimulus structure that leads to improved performance. This type of learning has been associated with activation of the primary motor cortex (M1) in neuroimaging studies. While neuroimaging studies contributed to identify this region, they do not provide information about its relative role in th...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • INCLUSION CRITERIA
• • Right handed normal volunteers (18-65 years old).
• • Patients with Parkinson's disease off medication.
• • Patients with cerebellar deficits.
• • Patients with frontal lobe lesions.
• • Patients with frontal lobe dementia.
• • EXCLUSION CRITERIA
• • Subjects with personal or family history of seizures or other neurological disorders.
• • Pregnant women.
• • Volunteers or patients with severe coronary artery disease.
• • Metal in the cranium except mouth.
• • Intracardiac lines.
• • Increased intracranial pressure as evaluated by clinical means.
• • Cardiac pacemakers.
• • Intake of neuroleptics.