Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34863115›Full record

ArticleBMC geriatrics2021

Exercise priming with transcranial direct current stimulation: a study protocol for a randomized, parallel-design, sham-controlled trial in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Celina S Liu, Nathan Herrmann, Bing Xin Song, Joycelyn Ba, Damien Gallagher, Paul I Oh, Susan Marzolini, Tarek K Rajji, Jocelyn Charles, Purti Papneja and 5 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC geriatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03670615 (Exercise Augmenting Cognition tDCS), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03670615 nacompletednot on this map

Exercise Augmenting Cognition tDCS (EXACT): A Pilot Study of a Combined Exercise and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Intervention for Cognition

TypeinterventionalSponsorSunnybrook Health Sciences CentreRan2018 to 2025Enrolled60ConditionsMild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer DiseaseArmstDCS, Exercise, Exercise Education, Sham tDCS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Neuromodulation and cognition in late-life depression.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 8 institutions in 1 country.

Celina S LiuDepartment of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 3K1, Canada.
Nathan HerrmannNeuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Bing Xin SongDepartment of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 3K1, Canada.
Joycelyn BaNeuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Damien GallagherNeuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Paul I OhCardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Program, KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, 347 Rumsey Road, Toronto, ON, M5G 1R7, Canada.
Susan MarzoliniCardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Program, KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, 347 Rumsey Road, Toronto, ON, M5G 1R7, Canada.
Tarek K RajjiDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jocelyn CharlesFamily & Community Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Purti PapnejaFamily & Community Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Mark J RapoportNeuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Ana C AndreazzaDepartment of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 3K1, Canada.
Danielle VieiraNeuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Alex KissInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Krista L LanctôtDepartment of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 3K1, Canada. krista.lanctot@sunnybrook.ca.
Sunnybrook Research InstituteSunnybrook Health Science Centre · CAHealth Sciences Centre · CAUniversity of Toronto · CACanada Research Chairs · CAToronto Rehabilitation Institute · CAUniversity Health Network · CAWestern University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive type of brain stimulation that uses electrical currents to modulate neuronal activity. A small number of studies have investigated the effects of tDCS on cognition in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and have demonstrated variable effects. Emerging evidence suggests that tDCS is most effective when applied to active brain circuits. Aerobic exercise is known to increase cortical excitability and improve brain network connectivity. Exercise may therefore be an effective, yet previously unexplored primer for tDCS to improve cognition in MCI and mild AD.

methodsParticipants with MCI or AD will be randomized to receive 10 sessions over 2 weeks of either exercise primed tDCS, exercise primed sham tDCS, or tDCS alone in a blinded, parallel-design trial. Those randomized to an exercise intervention will receive individualized 30-min aerobic exercise prescriptions to achieve a moderate-intensity dosage, equivalent to the ventilatory anaerobic threshold determined by cardiopulmonary assessment, to sufficiently increase cortical excitability. The tDCS protocol consists of 20 min sessions at 2 mA, 5 times per week for 2 weeks applied through 35 cm DISCUSSION: We describe a novel clinical trial to investigate the effects of exercise priming before tDCS in patients with MCI or mild AD. This proof-of-concept study may identify a previously unexplored, non-invasive, non-pharmacological combination intervention that improves cognitive symptoms in patients. Findings from this study may also identify potential mechanistic actions of tDCS in MCI and mild AD.

trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT03670615 . Registered on September 13, 2018.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseCognitive DysfunctionTranscranial Direct Current StimulationCognitionExerciseHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAlzheimer’s diseaseAngiogenesisClinical trialCognitionExerciseMild cognitive impairmentNeurogenesisNeuropsychiatric symptomsPrimingTranscranial direct current stimulation

Identifiers

PMID34863115
PMCPMC8645072
OpenAlexW4200431758

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.