---
title: Brain stimulation improves daily motivation
nct_id: NCT05065151
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05065151"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05065151"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:05:28.016Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Brain stimulation improves daily motivation

**Goal (in five words):** Brain stimulation improves daily motivation

**Official Title:** Understanding Motivation in Parkinson's Patients Through Neurophysiology

**Trial ID:** [NCT05065151](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05065151)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** University of California, San Francisco
- **Target Enrollment:** 70 participants
- **Start Date:** 2021-10-30
- **Completion Date:** 2030-12-01
- **Conditions:** Parkinson Disease, Deep Brain Stimulation, Motivation
- **Interventions:** Stimulation on, Stimulation off, Decision Making Task
- **Intervention Types:** OTHER, BEHAVIORAL

## Summary For Families

The goal is to understand how deep brain stimulation changes motivation and decision-making in people with Parkinson's disease or dystonia, by linking choices to brain signals. Participants who already have a Medtronic Percept or RC+S DBS system implanted in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or globus pallidus interna (GPi) will do decision-making tasks while researchers switch stimulation on and off and record neural activity, so we can see how the electrical pulses from DBS alter motivation-related brain circuits and behavior. The study seeks adults 18 and older who are at least one month post-DBS surgery with unilateral or bilateral Percept or RC+S implants, who do not have severe cognitive impairment (MoCA 20 or above) and are not pregnant.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 18 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* Has Parkinson's Disease or Dystonia
* Has Medtronic Percept or RC+S DBS device implanted in either GPI or STN
* Has DBS device implanted either bilaterally or unilaterally
* Male or female
* More than 1 month post-DBS surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

* Severe cognitive impairments
* Has MOCA score below 20
* Pregnancy
* Age less than 18 years old
```

## Locations (1)

- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States _(37.7749, -122.4194)_
  - Sarah Wang, PhD — (CONTACT) — 415-353-7885 — Sarah.Wang@ucsf.edu
  - Simon J Little, MBBS, PhD — (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

## Central Contacts

- Sarah Wang, PhD — (CONTACT) — 415-353-7885 — Sarah.Wang@ucsf.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05065151*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05065151*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05065151*