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Brain Activity During Strategic Planning

This study has been completed.
Sponsor:
Information provided by:
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT00728741
First received: August 5, 2008
Last updated: May 27, 2010
Last verified: May 2010
History of Changes
  Purpose

This study will locate areas in the brain that help people devise action plans to carry out complex tasks requiring use of strategy. The ability to plan strategically is impaired in patients who have had a stroke affecting the front parts of the brain. This study will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the activity of different areas of the brain during the formulation and execution of plans.

Right-handed healthy volunteers between 18 and 60 years of age may be eligible for this study. Participants come to the NIH Clinical Center four to five times to complete the following procedures:

Visit 1 - Screening

  • Medical history
  • Physical and neurological examinations

Visit 2 - MRI brain scan (if one has not been done within the past year)

MRI - This test uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of the brain. The scanner is a metal cylinder surrounded by a magnetic field. The subject lies on a table that can slide in and out of the scanner, wearing earplugs to muffle loud noises that occur during the scanning.

Visits 3 to 5 - Task training sessions and two fMRI scans

Functional MRI involves taking MRI scans while the subject performs a task in order to learn about changes in brain regions that are involved in the performance of the task. Subjects are trained in two tasks (see below) and then perform the tasks while in the MRI scanner.

  • Task 1: The subject presses computer keys in response to the direction of arrows shown on the computer screen. The keys are pressed according to a given set of rules the subject is taught.
  • Task 2: This task is similar to task 1, but the subject is also asked to remember certain previous actions and responses.

Condition
Healthy Volunteers

Study Type: Observational
Study Design: Time Perspective: Prospective
Official Title: Functional Neuro-Imaging of Strategy Use During Human Behavior

Further study details as provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):

Enrollment: 16
Study Start Date: August 2008
Estimated Study Completion Date: May 2010
  Show Detailed Description

  Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:   18 Years to 60 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:   Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:   Yes
Criteria
  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • Subjects from ages 18 to 60
  • Subjects must be right-hand dominant as defined by the Edinburgh Handedness inventory: (R. C. Oldfield, 1971) -Right lateralized handedness quotient of greater than 0.75 will be considered R handed)
  • Subjects willing to abstain from caffeine or alcohol for 48 hours prior to the FMRI scanning.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Subjects with clinically significant abnormal findings on neurological exam in any of the following neurological domains: cognitive, cranial nerve, motor, sensory, cerebellar functions.
  • Subjects who are pregnant (as determined by positive urine pregnancy test)
  • Subjects with any finding on the MRI safety questionnaire which prevents them from safely undergoing an MRI scan
  • Subjects with metallic dental fillings which are likely to cause MRI artifacts
  • Subjects with any history of brain tumor, stroke, head trauma or a vascular malformation as obtained by history or from imaging studies
  • Subjects with any history of a severe medical condition, such as cardiovascular disease, which would prevent them from lying flat for up to 120 minutes
  • Subjects without the capacity to give informed consent
  • Subjects with claustrophobia or other restrictions which prevent them from undergoing a scan in a confined space for up to 60 minutes
  Contacts and Locations
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00728741

Locations
United States, Maryland
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
Sponsors and Collaborators
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  More Information

Publications:

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00728741     History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers: 080192, 08-N-0192
Study First Received: August 5, 2008
Last Updated: May 27, 2010
Health Authority: United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):
Neural Networks
Cortical Activation
Strategy
 fMRI
Healthy Volunteer
HV

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 19, 2013