Attentional Mechanisms in SCD

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseEarly Phase 1
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age55+
SponsorVanderbilt University Medical Center

About this trial

This study will use an anticholinergic pharmacological probe to examine attention network function in SCD using EEG. The overall hypothesis is that in older adults with SCD, normal cognitive performance is maintained by compensatory attention network activity, supported by enhanced cholinergic function. The investigators anticipate that SCD will be associated with greater compensatory attention network activity and that disrupting this compensatory process through anticholinergic challenge will result in a greater negative effect on attentional performance (Attention Network Test, ANT) and attention network functioning (EEG) in older adults with greater subjective cognitive concern.

Eligibility criteria

Qualifiers

age ≥ 55

Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) > 25 AND Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) rating < 3

Non-smokers

Disqualifiers

medical contraindications to the drug challenge

primary neurological disorder (such as stroke, epilepsy, etc.)

Trial design

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Mecamylamine Challenge
  • Placebo Comparator Challenge

Treatment groups

80 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groups