Actively Recruiting

Phase Not Applicable
Age: 19Years - 90Years
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers
ID06899022

Investigating the Role of Attention in Perceptual and Cognitive Consequences of Parkinson's Disease

Led by University of Nebraska · Updated on 2026-05-05

138

Participants Needed

1

Research Sites

26 weeks

Total Duration

On this page

Sponsors

U

University of Nebraska

Lead Sponsor

N

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

Collaborating Sponsor

AI-Summary

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are investigating how deep brain stimulation (DBS) affects attention, perception, and cognition in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and other movement disorders like essential tremor (ET) and dystonia (DT). The study aims to understand if attention problems in PD change how social cues are interpreted and whether DBS improves or worsens these difficulties. It also explores how DBS might be optimized to restore attention control while treating other symptoms and what brain areas targeted by DBS contribute to attention control. Participants are grouped into those with PD, ET, or DT undergoing DBS, and healthy controls without these disorders. The study includes tasks where participants view and rate facial expressions while their eye movements are tracked. DBS stimulation is altered acutely during the study in three randomized conditions: normal therapeutic DBS, reduced current DBS, and reduced frequency DBS, each lasting about 20 minutes. Evaluations occur before DBS implantation, during awake DBS surgery, and after DBS initiation with changes in stimulation. Participants will be involved in facial emotion rating tasks and visual search tasks while eye tracking and brain activity recordings are performed. Assessments include facial expression ratings and eye tracking at baseline, intraoperative microrecordings during surgery, and follow-up after DBS optimization. Additional measures include EEG and local field potential recordings during emotional face viewing to study brain activity related to attention and perception. The study continues through approximately six months after DBS implantation, with thorough monitoring of cognitive and perceptual outcomes.

CONDITIONS

Brief Title

Attention and Eye Movement in Parkinson's Disease

Who Can Participate

Age: 19Years - 90Years
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible

You may qualify if you...

  • Ability and willingness to provide signed informed consent for this study
  • Ability to express perceptual judgments through a button press or mouse-controlled computerized slider
  • Age 19 to 90 years
  • Diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, or dystonia
  • Scheduled for new implantation of a therapeutic DBS device targeted to subthalamic nucleus, ventral intermediate nucleus of thalamus, or internal globus pallidus
  • Age-matched healthy participants without PD, ET, or DT
  • Scheduled for awake DBS implantation with clinical micro-electrode recordings
  • Willing and able to engage in tasks during awake surgical procedure
  • Willing to undergo and tolerate acute manipulations of DBS
Not Eligible

You will not qualify if you...

  • Corrected visual acuity insufficient to perceptually judge face stimuli
  • Inability to understand task instructions or complete task requirements
  • Insufficient therapeutic control of motor symptoms to engage in tasks requiring button press or mouse use
  • History of neurodegenerative disorder for healthy comparison participants
  • Not undergoing awake DBS implantation (for Aim 2 participants)
  • Failure of DBS to achieve therapeutic effect on motor symptoms (for Aim 3 participants)

AI-Screening

AI-Powered Screening

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Your Study Journey

Screening

Duration - 2 to 4 weeks

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial.

1 visit (in-person)

Surgery and Immediate Post-operative Care

Duration - Approximately 1 day

Participants undergo awake DBS implantation surgery during which microelectrode recordings are captured while performing tasks involving emotional face stimuli. Deep brain stimulation is acutely altered under three conditions in randomized order to evaluate effects on attention and perception.

1 surgical visit (in-person)

Post-operative Follow-up

Duration - 2 to 3 weeks

Participants complete follow-up assessments 2 to 3 weeks after DBS implantation, including facial expression rating and eye tracking tasks following clinical optimization of stimulation parameters.

1 follow-up visit (in-person)

Long-term Monitoring

Duration - Up to 6 months

Participants complete a single experimental visit up to 6 months after surgery involving EEG and LFP recordings during emotional face viewing tasks to assess brain activity related to attention and perception.

1 visit (in-person)

Trial Site Locations

Total: 1 location

1

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68198

Actively Recruiting

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Research Team

C

Christopher K Kovach, PhD

D

Dulce Maroni, PhD

How is the study designed?

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Masking

NONE

Allocation

NA

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Number of Arms

1

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Published Research Related To This Trial

Emotion recognition in early Parkinson's disease patients undergoing deep brain stimulation or dopaminergic therapy: a comparison to healthy participants.

Lindsey G McIntosh, Sishir Mannava, Corrie R Camalier...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25653616