Taking people in FranceNo phase

Brain Activity and Social Perception in People With Parkinson's Disease

Studies brain activity during social perception tasks in adults with Parkinson's disease using MRI.

Key facts

Who runs it: Hospices Civils de Lyon
Where: Bron, FranceSee the site
Trial code: NCT06884722
Registry title: Brain Mechanisms of Social Perception in Parkinson's Disease
Status: Recruiting
People taking part: 83 people, planned
Started: 15 Jul 2025
Expected to end: Apr 2027
Type of study: Interventional, 4 groups
Treatments tested: Behavioral task of social perception (stage 1)
Functional magnetic resonance imaging: 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (stage 2)
Neurological and neuropsychological assessments
Neurological assessments of Parkinson's disease symptoms and caregiver burden
Record updated: 22 July 2025

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for people with Parkinson's disease who take dopamine medicine, and for healthy volunteers. It studies how the brain handles social perception.

Age: 30 to 75 years
Sex: Men and women
Disease stage: Parkinson's disease diagnosed for at least 3 years, with no disabling thinking problems (MOCA score ≥ 26).
Earlier treatment: Patients must be taking dopaminergic treatment (for example LEVODOPA or PRAMIPEXOLE). For the imaging stage, patients must need a dopa test as part of routine care.

Main reasons for not taking part

Cannot have an MRI (for example a pacemaker not approved for 3 Tesla MRI, metal in the head or eyes, claustrophobia)
Head injury with loss of consciousness for more than 30 min (imaging stage)
Tremor or disabling dyskinesias that prevent MRI (patients, imaging stage)
Pregnant, giving birth or breast-feeding women
Persons under legal protection, deprived of liberty or under psychiatric care

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 19 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

Male or female between 30 and 75 years of age
Freely-given informed consent to participate to this study (written form)
Affiliated with a social security system or equivalent
Person diagnosed with Parkinson's disease according to MDS-UPDRS criteria for at least 3 years and receiving dopaminergic treatment (e.g. : LEVODOPA, CARBIDOPA, BENZERASIDE, ENTACAPONE, MODOPAR, SINEMET, STALEVO, PRAMIPEXOLE, SIFROL, ROPINIROLE, REQUIP ; ROTIGOTINE, NEUPRO, PIRIBEDIL, TRIVASTAL, RASAGILINE, AZILECT, CONTAM, AMANTADINE, MANTADIX, APOMORPHINE, APOKINON, DOPACEPTIN, FOSLEVODOPA, FOSCARBIDOPA, SCYOVA) (for patients only)
Effective contraception for women of childbearing age or post-menopausal women (only for patients and healthy volunteers in stage 2 "imaging")
Requiring dopa testing as part of routine care (only for patients in stage 2 "imaging")
No disabling cognitive impairment (MOCA score ≥ 26)
No diagnosis of chronic disease associated with disability (only for healthy volunteers)

Who cannot take part

History of head trauma with loss of consciousness lasting more than 30 min (only for patients and healthy volunteers in step 2 "imaging")
Persons under psychiatric care
Contraindication to MRI (only for patients and healthy volunteers in step 2 "imaging"):; Wearing a pacemaker not approved for 3 Tesla MRI; Presence of intracerebral ferromagnetic or magnetizable material; Presence of intraocular ferromagnetic or magnetizable foreign bodies; Presence of non-removable ferro-magnetic or magnetizable foreign bodies in the cephalic region; Claustrophobia
Participant not agreeing to be informed in the event of incidental discovery of an abnormality on MRI (only for patients and healthy volunteers in stage 2 "imaging")
Tremor or disabling dyskinesias preventing MRI (only for patients in stage 2)
Having exceeded the annual amount of compensation allowed for participation in research protocols (only for healthy volunteers)
Pregnant, parturient or breast-feeding women
Persons deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision
Persons admitted to a health or social institution for purposes other than research
Adults under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship)
Participants in other intervention research involving a period of exclusion still in progress at the time of pre-inclusion

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

Are you between 30 and 75 years old?

Where in France

Service de neurologie - troubles du mouvement et pathologies neuromusculaires, Hôpital neurologique Pierre Wertheimer/GHEBron, FranceContact: Stéphane PRANGE, MD, PhDTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

Social cognition is a complex process that enables humans to interpret social information and behave appropriately in a social environment. Social cognition can be impaired in Parkinson's disease patients, worsening quality of life and relationships with those around them, even at an early stage. These alterations are manifested in particular by impairments of the recognition of facial emotions and body movements, involving the motor system. The aim of this study is to understand the brain mechanisms associated with impaired social perception in people with Parkinson's disease using functional MRI and a behavioural task for the perception of social interaction scenes depicted by "Point Light Display" (PLD).This study will investigate the effect of dopaminergic modulation on the networks associated with the perception of movement and mirror system, the observation of action (parietal cortex, superior temporal sulcus), and those associated with the mentalization of others' cognitive or emotional states (prefrontal cortex and limbic system).

Read full original descriptionShow less

The study is thus divided into 2 stages.

* Stage 1 "preliminary": Preliminary validation of the experimental task * Stage 2 "imagery": Assessment of brain activity (BOLD signal) related to social perception in imaging

The 4 groups in the trial

Stage 1: PD patientsOther group
20 adult patients with Parkinson disease will perform a behavioral task of social perception.
Treatment: Behavioral task of social perception (stage 1), Neurological and neuropsychological assessments, and Neurological assessments of Parkinson's disease symptoms and caregiver burden
Stage 1: healthy volunteersOther group
20 adult patients without neurologic disorders will perform a behavioral task of social perception.
Treatment: Behavioral task of social perception (stage 1) and Neurological and neuropsychological assessments
Stage 2: PD patientsOther group
23 adult patients with Parkinson disease will perform a behavioral task of social perception during functional MRI recording.
Treatment: Functional magnetic resonance imaging: 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (stage 2), Neurological and neuropsychological assessments, and Neurological assessments of Parkinson's disease symptoms and caregiver burden
Stage 2: healthy volunteersOther group
20 adult volunteers without neurologic disorder will perform a behavioral task of social perception during functional MRI recording
Treatment: Functional magnetic resonance imaging: 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (stage 2) and Neurological and neuropsychological assessments