Behavioral changes following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are one of the biggest challenges for patients, as well as their family members and others involved in their recovery. One of the most common behavioral changes following TBI is the emergence of impulsive behavior, which has been associated with destructive, suicidal, and aggressive behavior, and is related to poor rehabilitation program adherence. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effect of a novel neuroplasticity based intervention approach utilizing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to alter brain neuroplasticity combined with cognitive training tasks selected to functionally target cognition and brain circuits that are impaired in those TBI patients with impulsive behavior.
This double-blind, randomized, placebo (sham) controlled study will recruit 30 Veterans with a history of mild, moderate or severe TBI, who exhibit a variety of impulsive behaviors. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either active or sham tDCS, both paired with cognitive training tasks, once a day for five days. Additionally, participants will attend three follow up visits at 1, 2, and 3 months after the course of intervention visits is completed. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be collected before and after intervention, to measure brain activity changes across time depending on intervention type.
