NCT03896529 Neurobiological Mechanisms of Aging and Stress on Prospective Navigation
| NCT ID | NCT03896529 |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Phase | — |
| Sponsor | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Condition | Aging |
| Study Type | INTERVENTIONAL |
| Enrollment | 85 participants |
| Start Date | 2019-09-24 |
| Primary Completion | 2026-09-01 |
Eligibility & Interventions
Eligibility Fast-Check
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What to Expect as a Participant
You will actively receive the study intervention — which may be a drug, biologic, device, or procedure.
This trial targets 85 participants in total. It began in 2019-09-24 with a primary completion date of 2026-09-01.
⚠ This information is for research awareness only. Always consult your physician before joining any clinical trial. Participation is voluntary and you may withdraw at any time.
Brief Summary
Two hallmarks of both healthy aging and age-related disease are 1) memory and navigational deficits, particularly in orienting towards goal locations and planning how to navigate to them, and 2) increased susceptibility to stress and altered regulation of the stress response. However, there are marked individual differences in these age-related changes. The investigators' proposal will help characterize factors that contribute to this variability. Participants will be pseudorandomly assigned to stress-manipulated or control groups. The investigators will give both groups a novel immersive navigation task, validated by the PI in healthy young adults. This paradigm gives participants the opportunity to either (a) flexibly draw on spatial memory in order to plan efficient routes to goal locations, or (b) fall back on inefficient, but cognitively less-demanding, stimulus-response associations (i.e., habits). Using neuroimaging and behavioral measures, the investigators' protocol will test whether experimentally-induced stress leads individuals to bring fewer details about future locations to mind when route planning, and whether such restricted prospective thought ultimately biases participants towards relatively inflexible, habitual actions.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * adults 65-80 * U.S. citizens or permanent residents * who speak fluent English * willing to come to Georgia Tech to participate in group testing sessions. Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals will be carefully screened using IRB-approved procedures for safety contraindications to MRI and electrical shock stimulation * (e.g., metal or electrical implants, heart arrhythmia, or medication affecting the cardiovascular system \[e.g. beta-blockers\]). The purpose of this study is to investigate mechanisms of normally functioning memory, and memory-related changes in healthy aging. Thus, any confounding factors that may influence cognition, other than age, will be exclusionary. Potential participants that endorse any of the following conditions will be excluded from the study: * Epilepsy * Dementia * Parkinson's disease * history of stroke or seizure * psychiatric disorders * untreated depression or emotional conditions * Attention Deficit Disorder * Multiple Sclerosis * uncontrolled hyper- or hypo-tension * untreated Diabetes * Sickle Cell Anemia * regularly use illegal or psychoactive drugs (e.g., cocaine, alcohol abuse, etc). * Additionally, individuals scoring \< 3 on WAIS-R forward span, \< 2 on WAIS-R backward span, and failing to name more than 2 vegetable names will be excluded from the study. These exclusions will insure that persons with mild cognitive impairment or typical indications of clinical dementia will be not participate in the research.
Contact & Investigator
Thackery I Brown, Ph.D.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Georgia Institute of Technology
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can join the NCT03896529 clinical trial?
This trial is open to participants of all sexes, aged 65 Years or older, up to 80 Years, studying Aging. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria are listed in the Eligibility Criteria section. Always confirm your eligibility with the research team before applying.
Is NCT03896529 currently recruiting?
Yes, NCT03896529 is actively recruiting participants. Contact the research team at thackery.brown@psych.gatech.edu for enrollment information.
Where is the NCT03896529 trial being conducted?
This trial is being conducted at Atlanta, United States.
Who is sponsoring the NCT03896529 clinical trial?
NCT03896529 is sponsored by Georgia Institute of Technology. The principal investigator is Thackery I Brown, Ph.D. at Georgia Institute of Technology. The trial plans to enroll 85 participants.