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HealthyPhase 4NCT00102284

Neuromodulation and Language Acquisition (Project Stage Ia)

A Phase 4 study testing levodopa, rivastigmine and pergolid in people with Healthy, run by University Hospital Muenster at 1 site in Germany.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether levodopa, pergolid, rivastigmine, or modafinil are effective in boosting semantic language acquisition in healthy subjects. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 20 to 35 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Healthy
What is being tested?
levodopa, rivastigmine and pergolid
How many people
100 participants
Where
1 siteGermany
Study dates
Mar 2004to Apr 2005
Phase
Phase 4
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 20 to 35 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Healthy subjects
  • 20-35 years old
  • Right handedness
  • Left language dominance (as assessed by functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonography [fTCD])

Who cannot join

  • Neurological/psychiatric/metabolic/cardiac disorders
  • Asthma
  • Known allergic reactions to one of the experimental drugs
  • Other drugs affecting the central nervous system
  • Leisure drug ingestion during the past 4 weeks (urine test)
  • Smoking cessation during the past 2 weeks
Show all 9Show fewer
  • > 6 cups of coffee or energy drinks per day
  • > 10 cigarettes per day
  • > 50 grams of alcohol per day

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Germany1 site
  • Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital Muenster

    Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, 48129

Other trials in Germany

About this study

Official title: Improved Language Acquisition Through Neuromodulation, Project Stage Ia

The purpose of this study is to determine whether levodopa, pergolid, rivastigmine, or modafinil are effective in boosting semantic language acquisition in healthy subjects.

Read the detailed description

Our prior work shows that d-amphetamine and the dopamine precursor levodopa markedly improve word learning success in healthy subjects. In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, we probe whether a mixed d1/d2 dopamine agonist (pergolid) or cholinergic neuromodulation (rivastigmine) or a general centrally arousing substance (modafinil) will yield a learning enhancement comparable to using levodopa in healthy subjects.

Our results show that the dopamine agonist pergolide impaired learning in healthy subjects compared to placebo, whereas cholinergic neuromodulation had no effect.

Conditions
Healthy
Being tested
levodopa, rivastigmine, pergolid, modafinil
Keywords
language acquisition, plasticity, stroke recovery, associative learning

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • levodopaDrug

  • rivastigmineDrug

  • pergolidDrug

  • modafinilDrug

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Boost in language learning success through neuromodulation

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Stability of language learning success

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted27 Jan 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startMar 2004
  3. Study completionApr 2005

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Enrolment
100 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00102284
Sponsor's protocol ID
KS-NEUROMOD_01, Stage Ia
Other IDs
IZKF Muenster: Kne3/074/04
Status last verified
Sep 2006
First submitted
26 Jan 2005
Last updated
27 Jan 2010
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Knecht S, Breitenstein C, Bushuven S, Wailke S, Kamping S, Floel A, Zwitserlood P, Ringelstein EB. Levodopa: faster and better word learning in normal humans. Ann Neurol. 2004 Jul;56(1):20-6. doi: 10.1002/ana.20125.

    PubMed 15236398
  • Breitenstein C, Wailke S, Bushuven S, Kamping S, Zwitserlood P, Ringelstein EB, Knecht S. D-amphetamine boosts language learning independent of its cardiovascular and motor arousing effects. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004 Sep;29(9):1704-14. doi: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300464.

    PubMed 15114342
  • Breitenstein C, Floel A, Korsukewitz C, Wailke S, Bushuven S, Knecht S. A shift of paradigm: from noradrenergic to dopaminergic modulation of learning? J Neurol Sci. 2006 Oct 25;248(1-2):42-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2006.05.012. Epub 2006 Jul 11.

    PubMed 16815467
  • Korsukewitz C, Breitenstein C, Schomacher M, Knecht S. [Present status and future possibilities of adjuvant pharmacotherapy for aphasia]. Nervenarzt. 2006 Apr;77(4):403-15. doi: 10.1007/s00115-005-2006-6. German.

    PubMed 16273340
  • Breitenstein C, Korsukewitz C, Floel A, Kretzschmar T, Diederich K, Knecht S. Tonic dopaminergic stimulation impairs associative learning in healthy subjects. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006 Nov;31(11):2552-64. doi: 10.1038/sj.npp.1301167. Epub 2006 Jul 26.

    PubMed 16880771

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing levodopa, rivastigmine and pergolid in people with Healthy, run by University Hospital Muenster at 1 site in Germany.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 9 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Jan 2010. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Germany. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study was stopped early. Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Boost in language learning success through neuromodulation. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00102284, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Jan 2010.

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Clinical Trial NCT00102284 | AzTrials