These studies are no longer accepting participants.
Three new studies from the Gillick Pediatric Neuromodulation Lab at the University of Minnesota. Click on links below for additional information.
- Effects of a single session of transcranial direct current stimulation in children with cerebral palsy – Weakness on one side of the body can affect the functional ability of an individual during childhood and throughout the lifespan. Research using non-invasive brain stimulation has shown improvements in recovery of motor function. In this study, we are seeking to understand what is the best method of brain stimulation in order to maximize this effect. Using transcranial direct current stimulation, brain cells that were inactive due to stroke injury have the potential to become active and contribute to improved function. Our goal is to understand the changes in brain activity following two different applications of stimulation and its impact on hand function.
- Perinatal Stroke: Understanding How the Brain Continues to Develop through Brain Imaging and Brain Stimulation – One in 2,300 babies have a bleeding in the brain. These babies are at high risk of developing difficulty moving due to changes in the brain. To provide treatment when it will potentially be most helpful, we first need to understand how the brain changes in babies after they had a stroke. Using brain pictures and magnetic pulses, we will study the way a baby’s brain is connected. Both the pictures and the pulses have been studied in infants and older children who also had a bleeding in the brain around the time that they were a baby. We will also analyze how a baby is moving. Looking at how the brain develops at this young age will help understand brain function in babies with bleeding and create treatments with the goal to improve the baby’s movement.
- Randomized trial of Rehabilitation very EArly in Congenital Hemiplegia (REACH)– This study is about infants with asymmetrical brain injury where only one side of the brain is impaired or one side is significantly more impaired than the other. These infants can have problems with the development of hand skills of the arm opposite to the side of injury (or the more impaired side of the brain). Early interventions are recommended to improve hand and arm development for these children. These treatments involve encouraging the infant to use his/her arms and hands for play based activities, such as reaching for, grasping and manipulating toys. This study compares two types of intervention to improve hand and arm skills and general motor development. The interventions will start between 3 and 9 months corrected age and will be provided by parents/caregivers in their home with the support of experienced occupational therapists and physical therapists. (Families need to be within a 90 mile radius of the Twin Cities in Minnesota)
Posted: April 2019
