HealthyNCT00031382
Imaging Study of Automatic Movements
An observational study of Healthy, run by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore the brain activities involved in performing learned automatic movements. Automatic movements are performed without concentrating on the details of the movement. Healthy adult volunteers are eligible for this study. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any ageHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy
- How many people
- 40 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Feb 2002to Mar 2005
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Forty normal adult volunteers will be included. Volunteers will be recruited from people who are registered as HMCS Normal Volunteers. All subjects participating in MR studies should have a valid Clinical Center Medical Record Number. Procedures for the functional fMRI experiment will follow the Standard Operating Procedures of HMCS Neuroimaging group.
Who cannot join
- Subjects with pacemakers, cardiac, or neural defibrillators, intracranial aneurysm clips, intraorbital metallic structures, insulin pumps, cochlear implants, and other metallic objects will not be scanned. We will not scan pregnant women because the safety of high magnetic fields to the fetus is not established. Therefore, we will administer a urine pregnancy field for any female of childbearing potential prior to functional MRI scan. If the result from a urine pregnancy test is not available for some reason, a medical doctor will judge based on the proper information prior to the scanning. We will also exclude children because the study will be too complex for them.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
About this study
Official title: A Neuroimaging Study of Automatic Movements
This study uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore the brain activities involved in performing learned automatic movements. Automatic movements are performed without concentrating on the details of the movement.
Healthy adult volunteers are eligible for this study. Candidates will have a medical history and brief physical examination and will fill out a questionnaire. Women of childbearing potential will have a urine pregnancy test. Pregnant women will not be enrolled.
Read more
Participants will perform certain tasks involving movement of the right or left hand while undergoing MRI scanning. They will undergo scanning twice-before and after practicing the movement tasks. Before the second scan, participants will practice the following tasks for 1 week:
- Tapping task - subjects use their left index finger to tap a button at a certain frequency.
- Sequential movement task - subjects perform sequential finger-tapping movements with their right hand, in which they tap buttons with their fingers at a certain frequency in a 25-second period. There are two sequences of different lengths, referred to as sequence-4 and sequence-12, based on the number of movements in each unit of the sequence.
- Visual distraction task - 14-letter sequences consisting of the letters A, G, L, and O will be presented and subjects will be asked to identify the number of times they see a target letter.
- Dual tasks - after completing all the above tasks, subjects perform the following dual tasks:
Tapping and visual task
Sequence-4 finger tap and visual task
Sequence-12 finger tap and visual task
Tapping and sequence-4 finger tap
Tapping and sequence-12 finger tap
When the participants can perform the dual tasks correctly 90 percent of the time, the movements will be considered automatic, and the subjects will undergo MRI scanning. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of the brain. For the procedure, the subject lies still on a stretcher that is moved into the scanner (a narrow cylinder containing the magnet). Earplugs are worn to muffle loud noises caused by electrical switching of radio frequency circuits used in the scanning process. The scan will last about 1.5 hours.
Read the detailed description
A general characteristic of the motor system is that people can perform some learned movements automatically. The underlying neural correlates of automatic movement have been investigated, but are not fully understood. In the present study, in order to investigate the brain activities contributing to the phenomenon, we use a specially designed dual task paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique. Forty healthy adult subjects are asked to perform motor tasks (squeezing of hand or sequential movement of fingers) while listening to an auditory distraction task, or to execute two different motor tasks simultaneously. fMRI is obtained during their performance of these tasks. By analyzing fMRI results, we will explore the brain regions especially devoted to the automatic movements.
- Conditions
- Healthy
- Keywords
- Functional MRI, Dual Task, Neural Activation, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum, Healthy Volunteer, HV, Normal Control
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted4 Mar 2002 (estimated)
- Study startFeb 2002
- Study completionMar 2005
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (3)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for HealthyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Enrolment
- 40 participants
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
- Sponsor type
- US National Institutes of Health
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00031382
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 020135
- Other IDs
- 02-N-0135
- Status last verified
- Mar 2005
- First submitted
- 2 Mar 2002
- Last updated
- 4 Mar 2008
- Results posted
- No
Publications
Brown P, Marsden CD. What do the basal ganglia do? Lancet. 1998 Jun 13;351(9118):1801-4. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(97)11225-9.
PubMed 9635969Catalan MJ, Honda M, Weeks RA, Cohen LG, Hallett M. The functional neuroanatomy of simple and complex sequential finger movements: a PET study. Brain. 1998 Feb;121 ( Pt 2):253-64. doi: 10.1093/brain/121.2.253.
PubMed 9549504Jueptner M, Weiller C. A review of differences between basal ganglia and cerebellar control of movements as revealed by functional imaging studies. Brain. 1998 Aug;121 ( Pt 8):1437-49. doi: 10.1093/brain/121.8.1437.
PubMed 9712006
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 4 Mar 2008. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Neuroimaging Study of Automatic Movements
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00031382
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 020135
- Conditions
- Healthy
- Keywords
- Functional MRI, Dual Task, Neural Activation, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum, Healthy Volunteer, HV, Normal Control
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 40 participants
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)US National Institutes of Health
- Study start
- Feb 2002
- Study completion
- Mar 2005
- First posted
- 4 Mar 2002 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore the brain activities involved in performing learned automatic movements. Automatic movements are performed without concentrating on the details of the movement.
Healthy adult volunteers are eligible for this study. Candidates will have a medical history and brief physical examination and will fill out a questionnaire. Women of childbearing potential will have a urine pregnancy test. Pregnant women will not be enrolled.
Participants will perform certain tasks involving movement of the right or left hand while undergoing MRI scanning. They will undergo scanning twice-before and after practicing the movement tasks. Before the second scan, participants will practice the following tasks for 1 week:
- Tapping task - subjects use their left index finger to tap a button at a certain frequency.
- Sequential movement task - subjects perform sequential finger-tapping movements with their right hand, in which they tap buttons with their fingers at a certain frequency in a 25-second period. There are two sequences of different lengths, referred to as sequence-4 and sequence-12, based on the number of movements in each unit of the sequence.
- Visual distraction task - 14-letter sequences consisting of the letters A, G, L, and O will be presented and subjects will be asked to identify the number of times they see a target letter.
- Dual tasks - after completing all the above tasks, subjects perform the following dual tasks:
Tapping and visual task
Sequence-4 finger tap and visual task
Sequence-12 finger tap and visual task
Tapping and sequence-4 finger tap
Tapping and sequence-12 finger tap
When the participants can perform the dual tasks correctly 90 percent of the time, the movements will be considered automatic, and the subjects will undergo MRI scanning. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of the brain. For the procedure, the subject lies still on a stretcher that is moved into the scanner (a narrow cylinder containing the magnet). Earplugs are worn to muffle loud noises caused by electrical switching of radio frequency circuits used in the scanning process. The scan will last about 1.5 hours.
Detailed description
A general characteristic of the motor system is that people can perform some learned movements automatically. The underlying neural correlates of automatic movement have been investigated, but are not fully understood. In the present study, in order to investigate the brain activities contributing to the phenomenon, we use a specially designed dual task paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique. Forty healthy adult subjects are asked to perform motor tasks (squeezing of hand or sequential movement of fingers) while listening to an auditory distraction task, or to execute two different motor tasks simultaneously. fMRI is obtained during their performance of these tasks. By analyzing fMRI results, we will explore the brain regions especially devoted to the automatic movements.
Study design
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Forty normal adult volunteers will be included. Volunteers will be recruited from people who are registered as HMCS Normal Volunteers. All subjects participating in MR studies should have a valid Clinical Center Medical Record Number. Procedures for the functional fMRI experiment will follow the Standard Operating Procedures of HMCS Neuroimaging group.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Subjects with pacemakers, cardiac, or neural defibrillators, intracranial aneurysm clips, intraorbital metallic structures, insulin pumps, cochlear implants, and other metallic objects will not be scanned. We will not scan pregnant women because the safety of high magnetic fields to the fetus is not established. Therefore, we will administer a urine pregnancy field for any female of childbearing potential prior to functional MRI scan. If the result from a urine pregnancy test is not available for some reason, a medical doctor will judge based on the proper information prior to the scanning. We will also exclude children because the study will be too complex for them.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Not reported in the source record.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 4 Mar 2008.
- Background: PubMed 9635969Brown P, Marsden CD. What do the basal ganglia do? Lancet. 1998 Jun 13;351(9118):1801-4. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(97)11225-9.
- Background: PubMed 9549504Catalan MJ, Honda M, Weeks RA, Cohen LG, Hallett M. The functional neuroanatomy of simple and complex sequential finger movements: a PET study. Brain. 1998 Feb;121 ( Pt 2):253-64. doi: 10.1093/brain/121.2.253.
- Background: PubMed 9712006Jueptner M, Weiller C. A review of differences between basal ganglia and cerebellar control of movements as revealed by functional imaging studies. Brain. 1998 Aug;121 ( Pt 8):1437-49. doi: 10.1093/brain/121.8.1437.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Healthy, run by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Mar 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00031382, which also lists 3 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Mar 2008; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 29 Oct 2026.