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

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Other
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY

The goal of this observational and interventional study is to understand how therapeutic deep brain stimulation (DBS) affects attention, perception and cognition in participants with Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET). The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does impaired control of attention and eye movement in PD alter how social cues are perceived and interpreted? * Does therapeutic DBS improve or worsen attentional and perceptual deficits for social cues in PD and ET? * Can DBS be optimized to restore normal attentional control in PD while remaining an effective therapy for other aspects of the disorder. * What do parts of the brain targeted by DBS contribute to the control of attention? Using an eye tracking camera, investigators will study how participants with PD and ET look at and perceive facial expressions of emotion before and after starting DBS therapy, in comparison to a group of healthy participants without ET, PD or DBS. Participants with PD and ET will see and rate morphed facial expressions on a computer screen in three conditions: * Before starting DBS therapy (over approximately 1 hour). * In the operating room, during the standard procedure to implant DBS electrodes, while the participant is awake (for no more than 15 minutes). * After starting DBS therapy, with brief experimental changes of DBS stimulation level and frequency (over approximately 1 hour).

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 19
Maximum Age: 90
Healthy Volunteers: t
View:

• All Participants (Aim 1):

‣ 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 - 90 years

• DBS Participants (Aim 1):

‣ Diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) or essential tremor (ET)

⁃ Scheduled for new implantation of a therapeutic DBS device targeted to subthalamic nucleus (STN), ventral intermediate nucleus of thalamus (VIM) or internal globus pallidus (GPi)

• Comparison Participants (Aim 1):

• o Selection by age matching to participants in PD group

• Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET) Participants (Aim 2):

‣ 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 - 90 years

⁃ Scheduled for awake DBS implantation with clinical micro-electrode recordings (MER)

⁃ Willing and able to engage in tasks during an awake surgical procedure

• Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET) Participants (Aim 3):

‣ 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 - 90 years

⁃ Willing to undergo acute manipulations of DBS

⁃ Able to tolerate acute changes of DBS

Locations
United States
Nebraska
University of Nebraska Medical Center
RECRUITING
Omaha
Contact Information
Primary
Christopher K Kovach, PhD
ckovach@unmc.edu
319-471-3372
Backup
Dulce Maroni, PhD
dmaroni@unmc.edu
402-836-9751
Time Frame
Start Date: 2025-09-22
Estimated Completion Date: 2028-08
Participants
Target number of participants: 138
Treatments
Experimental: Acute alteration of DBS
All participants in the single arm of this study will undergo acute alteration of DBS stimulation under three conditions in randomized order over the course of 1 hour.
Sponsors
Leads: University of Nebraska
Collaborators: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov