NCT06235840Completed
Compensatory Brain Activity in Older Adults.
Compensatory Brain Activity in Older Adults. The Search for the Electrophysiological Indicators of Cognitive Processes Involved in This Activity, and Its Possible Changes Induced by Working Memory Training
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 1 Feb 2024
Brief summary (registry, in English)
There are two important aspects in which the present project will allow to enrich our understanding of compensatory brain activity in older adults. First, in the studies that have been conducted so far the compensatory brain activity in older adults was investigated primarily with the use of the functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) or positon emission tomography (PET). In order to identify compensatory activity in our study we will use electroencephalographic markers (observable in EEG). It will allow to confirm the assumptions about compensatory brain activity relying on new data, as in EEG research the brain markers of the same cognitive processes are different from those used in fMRI and PET research. What is more, in the studies conducted so far brain activity in older adults was only registered and interpreted, whereas the present study additionally adds the training component. The aim of our study is to see if it is possible to influence the compensatory brain activity through cognitive functions training, relying on working memory training. Theoretically, such a training should optimize brain activity in older adults, namely evoke compensatory brain activity during difficult tasks in order to make them easier, whereas in the case of easy tasks it should lead to the disappearance of the need to trigger compensatory activity. This assumption will be verified in an experimental setting. The participants will be divided into six groups: two experimental (the groups of young and old adults), and by analogy two active control groups and two passive (no-contact) control groups. The experiment was designed in the following way: (1) All groups will be subjected to pre-test measurements that will be EEG registration during a cognitive task execution at different difficulty levels; (2) Experimental groups will undergo working memory training. Over the period of 4 weeks participants in the experimental groups will take part in 12 training sessions. In the active control groups instead of the n-back training the practice of tasks which do not involve working memory will be introduced. Participants of the passive control groups will be awaiting post-test (no-contact control); (3) In all groups post-test measurements will be administered analogically to the pre-test measurements in order to assess changes in cognitive tasks performance and related brain activity.
- Status (registry)
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 117 (actual)
- First submitted
- 10 Sept 2020
- Start date
- 29 Nov 2018
- Primary completion date
- 24 Jan 2023
- Lead sponsor
- Kazimierz Wielki University
- Diseases
- Alzheimer disease
- NCT number
- NCT06235840
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Participants enrolled: 117
- From 29 Nov 2018 to the primary completion date, 24 Jan 2023
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Who the study is looking for
- Age: belonging to one of the age groups - older adults (60-75 years old) or young adults (20-35 years old). The 60-75 age group limits the influence of the advance of various age-related changes, and at the same time, this group is classified as early late-adulthood. The 20-35 group, on the other hand, falls within early adulthood (Sugarman, 2001);
- No history of mental illness;
- No history of neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, or severe head injuries.
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision;
- Intellectual norm;
- No dementia symptoms (in old adults);
- No visible abnormal brain activity in EEG (verifiable only in the pre-test);
- Signing an informed consent to participate in the study (after familiarizing oneself with the aim of the study and the conditions of participation, as well as having received satisfactory answers to all questions).
Age in the registry: 20 years to 75 years · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kazimierz Wielki University, Faculty of Psychology Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Bydgoszcz | Poland | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.