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Table 1 Eligibility criteria

From: BRAINSTORMING: A study protocol for a randomised double-blind clinical trial to assess the impact of concurrent brain stimulation (tDCS) and working memory training on cognitive performance in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

Inclusion Criteria

1. Referred to the service

2. Are between 18 and 69 years of age, inclusive

3. Have capacity and able to provide informed consent

4. Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing

5. Having a working memory impairment (see screening procedure)

6. At least 3 months between the injury and the starting of the study

7. Has a computer or has access to a computer

Exclusion criteria

1. Pre-injury psychiatric or neurological disease by self-report (e.g., anxiety disorder, ADHD, Parkinson’s disease, etc.)

2. History of diagnosed severe depression (diagnosed pre-injury)

3. History of epilepsy (diagnosed pre-injury)

4. Family history of epilepsy

5. Have had fainting spells or syncope in the last 3 years pre-injury

6. Have significant hearing loss, vision or motor impairment that would prevent them from performing the task

7. Known to be pregnant

8. Consuming medication affecting cortical excitability or recreational drugsa

9. Metal (except titanium) or electronic implants in the brain /skull (e.g., splinters, fragments, clips, cochlear implant, deep brain stimulation, medication pump…)

10. Metal (except titanium) or any electronic device at other sites in your body, such as cardiac pacemaker or traumatic metallic residual fragments

11. Have skin problems such as dermatitis, psoriasis or eczema under the stimulation sites

12. Have had brain stimulation in the past 6 months

13. Have undergone transcranial electric or magnetic stimulation in the past (more than 6 months) which resulted in adverse effects

14. Skull fractures, significant skull defects, skull plates or large vessels occlusions, no significant cortical lesion or atrophy at the site of electrode

15. Having had a seizure at the time of accident or between the injury and starting of the therapy.

  1. aWe follow recommendations by McLaren et al. [49], and only exclude drugs that are shown to block tDCS effects (e.g., sodium channel blockers, calcium channel blockers, and NMDA receptor antagonist), while other medications shown to only modulate tDCS effects will be tracked and considered as covariate in the analysis. We will monitor for medication changes as a potential bias on the outcomes of the intervention and report any changes that may occur. If a patient become in need of medications shown to block tDCS effects, they will be excluded from further participation. We will monitor changes in medication and general health through in-person briefing during the first 2 weeks of the intervention, when a researcher is visiting the patient’s house, and via phone calls (e.g. “Have there been any changes in your health or medications since our last phone call?”) during the remaining 3 weeks of the intervention