The Connection Between Areas in the Brain of Blind Patients

This study has been completed.

Sponsor:

Information provided by:

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT00001926

First received: November 3, 1999

Last updated: March 3, 2008

Last verified: November 2003

History of Changes

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test the belief that specific areas of the brain are connected differently in blind patients than patients with sight. In addition, the study will examine the different anatomical connections between brain areas of patients who became blind early in life versus patients who became blind later.

Condition	Intervention
Blindness Brain Mapping Healthy	Drug: O15 Device: Cadwell rTMS

Study Type:	Observational
Official Title:	Connectivity of Occipital and Somatosensory Cortical Areas in Blind Subjects

Further study details as provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):

Estimated Enrollment:	45
Study Start Date:	April 1999
Estimated Study Completion Date:	November 2003

Detailed Description:

The purpose of this protocol is to test the hypothesis that the anatomical connectivity of occipital and somatosensory areas in early blind subjects differs from that in subjects who became blind later in life and from that in sighted volunteers.

Eligibility

Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Subjects with late blindness.

Subjects with early blindness.

Sighted volunteers.

Age between 18 and 65 years.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Subjects with personal or family history of seizures or other neurological or demyelinating disorders.

Pregnant women tested after urine pregnancy test.

Subjects with metal in the cranium except mouth.

Subjects with intracardiac lines and implanted medication pumps.

Subjects with increased intracranial pressure as evaluated by clinical means.

Subjects with cardiac pacemakers.

Intake or neuroleptics.

Subjects with blindness secondary to degenerative CNS diseases.

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00001926

Locations

United States, Maryland
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892

Sponsors and Collaborators

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

More Information

Publications:

Cohen LG, Bandinelli S, Findley TW, Hallett M. Motor reorganization after upper limb amputation in man. A study with focal magnetic stimulation. Brain. 1991 Feb;114 ( Pt 1B):615-27.

Fuhr P, Cohen LG, Dang N, Findley TW, Haghighi S, Oro J, Hallett M. Physiological analysis of motor reorganization following lower limb amputation. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1992 Feb;85(1):53-60.

Kew JJ, Ridding MC, Rothwell JC, Passingham RE, Leigh PN, Sooriakumaran S, Frackowiak RS, Brooks DJ. Reorganization of cortical blood flow and transcranial magnetic stimulation maps in human subjects after upper limb amputation. J Neurophysiol. 1994 Nov;72(5):2517-24.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00001926 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	990031, 99-N-0031
Study First Received:	November 3, 1999
Last Updated:	March 3, 2008
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):

Plasticity
Magnetic Stimulation
PET

Blind
Braille
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Blindness
Vision Disorders
Sensation Disorders
Neurologic Manifestations

Nervous System Diseases
Eye Diseases
Signs and Symptoms

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 16, 2013

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