Healthy Older AdultsNCT06862622
Neural Representations of Memory Transformation (MEM_TRANS)
An observational study of Healthy Older Adults, run by Medical University of South Carolina.
Trial summary
Investigators overarching goal is to provide evidence for the link between altered spatiotemporal (where and when) neural mechanisms and the extent of changed memory maintenance in healthy older adults and to identify potential neural markers of compensatory function (cognitive resource). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy Older Adults
- What is being tested?
- Computer-based visuomotor sequence learning and interference
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 40 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 1 Oct 2026to 30 Sep 2027
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Healthy volunteers aged18 years or older (80 of the final sample will be ≥60years of age).
Who may be able to join
- Age 18 years or older (80 of the final sample will be ≥60years of age)
- Cognitively unimpaired, ambiguous, or mildly impaired cognitive function, defined as a score of ≥18 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA).
- No previous stroke, brain tumor, neurodegenerative disease, or trauma to the head
- Ability to give consent for study participation
- Ability to perform a computer task requiring responding to visual cues and typing on a standard computer keyboard with both index and middle fingers for 30 minutes daily.
Who cannot join
- Inability to use both index and middle fingers to type on a standard computer keyboard
- Dementia defined as a score of <18 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA)
- Uncorrected vision, hindering perception of visual cues presented on a standard computer screen
- Medication use at the time of study that may interfere with learning, including but not limited to carbamazepine, flunarizine, sulpiride, rivastigmine, and dextromethorphan.
- Neuromuscular disorders that affect fine motor control of the hands.
- Presence of neurological or psychiatric disorders
Show all 12Show fewer
- Presence of scalp injury or disease
- Prior intracranial surgery
- Prior brain radiotherapy
- Prior history of intracranial tumor, intracranial infection, or cerebrovascular malformation
- Metal in the head or neck
- Contraindications to MRI (such as severe claustrophobia, implanted medical devices)
Trial locations and contacts
No sites are listed yet. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
Official title: Task-based Synchronous Electroencephalography and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (EEG-fMRI) to Explore Neural Representations of Memory Maintenance in the Aging Brain.
Investigators overarching goal is to provide evidence for the link between altered spatiotemporal (where and when) neural mechanisms and the extent of changed memory maintenance in healthy older adults and to identify potential neural markers of compensatory function (cognitive resource). Investigators preliminary studies suggest that healthy older adults, compared to younger adults, benefit behaviorally from increased coupling between frontal and parietal brain waves when retrieving and updating well-consolidated visuomotor sequence memory via stronger top-down cognitive control of memory maintenance. Thus, Investigators central hypothesis is that the dynamics across cortical and subcortical regions (i.e., spatiotemporal representations) during transitions between different levels of memory stability indicate the efficiency of memory maintenance. The rationale is that while temporal and spatial neural signatures carry distinct mechanistic information, the joint definition of spatial and temporal representations will allow the differentiation of compensatory versus neurodegenerative mechanisms.
Read the detailed description
To investigate the spatiotemporal neural dynamics during memory maintenance mechanisms, healthy older adults will practice a computer-based online visuomotor sequence learning task over consecutive days until reaching a performance plateau. At the performance plateau, participants will undergo concurrent electroencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) while being exposed to a behavioral interference intervention to perturb the stability of the previously stored memory trace to extract spatiotemporal neural dynamics during these transitional states. Additionally, participants will undergo an additional brain scan to quantify aging-related neurodegeneration based on grey- and white-matter integrity, cerebral perfusion, and resting-state connectivity. Cognitive functioning and putative confounders of learning and memory will be quantified with standardized assessments. The experimental procedures include an individual number of daily computer-based sessions of task practice at home, and two lab visits including questionnaires, neuropsychological testing, and two MRI brain scans distributed over approximately two weeks.
- Conditions
- Healthy Older Adults
- Being tested
- Computer-based visuomotor sequence learning and interference
- Keywords
- Aging, Healthy Volunteer Studies, memory, fMRI, EEG
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Computer-based visuomotor sequence learning and interferenceBehavioural
The behavioral sequence learning and interference paradigm allows the experimental manipulation of sequence memory after long-term consolidation achieved through individualized longitudinal practice and serves the extraction of the primary behavioral outcome. The learning task requires participants to respond with keypresses on a standard computer keyboard of visual targets. Participants will implicitly (without being made aware) learn sequential regularities provided through the recurring order of cued keys contrasted with random keys. Participants will practice the learning task remotely over consecutive days until a stable performance plateau is reached. During this phase, data will be collected online, and behavioral change will be monitored in real time. Then participants will undergo the behavioral interference intervention, in which the initially learned sequence memory will be perturbed through (implicit) exposure to new sequential information (i.e., interference).
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| behavioral skill learning intervention | All participants in this study undergo daily practice of a new skill until change through practice stabilizes (plateau). Receives: Behavioral: Computer-based visuomotor sequence learning and interference |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in relative performance precision
The primary behavioral outcome parameter is based on the precision of keypresses, i.e., temporal and spatial deviation of pressed from cued keys measured in a single compound measure [actual precision in %] serve to describe behavior across retrieval of formerly consolidated and interference with competing new sequential information.
Measured: 60 minutes
Whole-brain change in time-resolved neural dynamics extracted EEG (temporal representations).
Temporal patterns of brain dynamics derived from electroencephalography and projected into the anatomical source space serve to describe the temporal representations across retrieval of formerly consolidated and interference with competing new sequential information.
Measured: 60 minutes
Change in blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) derived brain activation patterns (spatial representations)
Change of spatially precise whole-brain blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes (spatial representations) across retrieval of formerly consolidated and interference with competing new sequential information.
Measured: 60 minutes
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Mar 2025
- Study start1 Oct 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion30 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Sep 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Healthy Older AdultsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Medical University of South CarolinaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- 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
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 40 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Medical University of South Carolina
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Kirstin-Friederike Heise, Medical University of South Carolina
- Investigators
- Kirstin-Friederike Heise, PhD, Principal investigator, Medical University of South Carolina
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06862622
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Pro00141769
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 25 Feb 2025
- Last updated
- 12 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Task-based Synchronous Electroencephalography and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (EEG-fMRI) to Explore Neural Representations of Memory Maintenance in the Aging Brain.
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06862622
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Pro00141769
- Conditions
- Healthy Older Adults
- Keywords
- Aging, Healthy Volunteer Studies, memory, fMRI, EEG
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 40 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Medical University of South CarolinaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Study start
- 1 Oct 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 30 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 6 Mar 2025 (actual)
- 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.
Investigators overarching goal is to provide evidence for the link between altered spatiotemporal (where and when) neural mechanisms and the extent of changed memory maintenance in healthy older adults and to identify potential neural markers of compensatory function (cognitive resource). Investigators preliminary studies suggest that healthy older adults, compared to younger adults, benefit behaviorally from increased coupling between frontal and parietal brain waves when retrieving and updating well-consolidated visuomotor sequence memory via stronger top-down cognitive control of memory maintenance. Thus, Investigators central hypothesis is that the dynamics across cortical and subcortical regions (i.e., spatiotemporal representations) during transitions between different levels of memory stability indicate the efficiency of memory maintenance. The rationale is that while temporal and spatial neural signatures carry distinct mechanistic information, the joint definition of spatial and temporal representations will allow the differentiation of compensatory versus neurodegenerative mechanisms.
Detailed description
To investigate the spatiotemporal neural dynamics during memory maintenance mechanisms, healthy older adults will practice a computer-based online visuomotor sequence learning task over consecutive days until reaching a performance plateau. At the performance plateau, participants will undergo concurrent electroencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) while being exposed to a behavioral interference intervention to perturb the stability of the previously stored memory trace to extract spatiotemporal neural dynamics during these transitional states. Additionally, participants will undergo an additional brain scan to quantify aging-related neurodegeneration based on grey- and white-matter integrity, cerebral perfusion, and resting-state connectivity. Cognitive functioning and putative confounders of learning and memory will be quantified with standardized assessments. The experimental procedures include an individual number of daily computer-based sessions of task practice at home, and two lab visits including questionnaires, neuropsychological testing, and two MRI brain scans distributed over approximately two weeks.
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| behavioral skill learning intervention | – | Behavioral: Computer-based visuomotor sequence learning and interferenceAll participants in this study undergo daily practice of a new skill until change through practice stabilizes (plateau). |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Healthy volunteers aged18 years or older (80 of the final sample will be ≥60years of age).
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Age 18 years or older (80 of the final sample will be ≥60years of age)
- Cognitively unimpaired, ambiguous, or mildly impaired cognitive function, defined as a score of ≥18 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA).
- No previous stroke, brain tumor, neurodegenerative disease, or trauma to the head
- Ability to give consent for study participation
- Ability to perform a computer task requiring responding to visual cues and typing on a standard computer keyboard with both index and middle fingers for 30 minutes daily.
Key exclusion criteria (12 listed)
- Inability to use both index and middle fingers to type on a standard computer keyboard
- Dementia defined as a score of <18 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA)
- Uncorrected vision, hindering perception of visual cues presented on a standard computer screen
- Medication use at the time of study that may interfere with learning, including but not limited to carbamazepine, flunarizine, sulpiride, rivastigmine, and dextromethorphan.
- Neuromuscular disorders that affect fine motor control of the hands.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Computer-based visuomotor sequence learning and interferenceThe behavioral sequence learning and interference paradigm allows the experimental manipulation of sequence memory after long-term consolidation achieved through individualized longitudinal practice and serves the extraction of the primary behavioral outcome. The learning task requires participants to respond with keypresses on a standard computer keyboard of visual targets. Participants will implicitly (without being made aware) learn sequential regularities provided through the recurring order of cued keys contrasted with random keys. Participants will practice the learning task remotely over consecutive days until a stable performance plateau is reached. During this phase, data will be collected online, and behavioral change will be monitored in real time. Then participants will undergo the behavioral interference intervention, in which the initially learned sequence memory will be perturbed through (implicit) exposure to new sequential information (i.e., interference). | Behavioural | behavioral skill learning intervention |
Primary outcome
Change in relative performance precision
Time frame: 60 minutes
The primary behavioral outcome parameter is based on the precision of keypresses, i.e., temporal and spatial deviation of pressed from cued keys measured in a single compound measure [actual precision in %] serve to describe behavior across retrieval of formerly consolidated and interference with competing new sequential information.
Whole-brain change in time-resolved neural dynamics extracted EEG (temporal representations).
Time frame: 60 minutes
Temporal patterns of brain dynamics derived from electroencephalography and projected into the anatomical source space serve to describe the temporal representations across retrieval of formerly consolidated and interference with competing new sequential information.
Change in blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) derived brain activation patterns (spatial representations)
Time frame: 60 minutes
Change of spatially precise whole-brain blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes (spatial representations) across retrieval of formerly consolidated and interference with competing new sequential information.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Aug 2026.
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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.
Kirstin-Friederike Heise, PhD principal investigator
Medical University of South Carolina
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Healthy Older Adults, run by Medical University of South Carolina.
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 5 inclusion and 12 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: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Principal Investigator ((843)792-3435, heisek@musc.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in relative performance precision (time frame: 60 minutes). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 12 Aug 2026.