Older Age and Generalization
ConditionAging
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18-80
SponsorCaitlin Bowman
About this trial
The goal of this clinical is to learn how the brain supports different kinds of memory decisions in healthy young and older adults. The main question it seeks to answer is: Do older adults make memory decisions by integrating across experiences?
Young (aged 18-30 years) and older (aged 65-80 years) participants will complete a memory task while undergoing functional MRI to measure their brain responses.
Researchers will compare brain measures of integration in older adults to those of young adults to see if integration increases in older age.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Either aged 18-30 years (young adults) or aged 65-80 years (older adults) (self-report)
Fluent in English (self-report)
Right-handed (self-report)
Cognitively healthy (self report verified by score > 24 on Montreal Cognitive Assessment)
Disqualifiers
Self-reported neurological disorder (e.g., Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease)
Self-reported uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, or thyroid disorder
Having conditions or devices that are unsafe for MRI (assessed via imaging center's MRI safety screening form)
Self-reported difficulty lying still on one's back for 1-2 hours
Trial design
Design model
Single group
Treatments tested in this trial
Memory decision type
BehavioralSubjects will be probed to either remember an association they saw directly during the study phase or to make an inference across indirectly associated items.
Treatment groups
360 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment groupGroup A: Experimental ArmExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Behavioral memory responses
Participants will complete the study and test phases of a memory-based inference task designed by the investigators. The investigators will focus on the accuracy of decisions (0-100% scale with higher scores meaning better memory) and how long it takes to make correct decisions (in seconds, faster responses mean less cognitive processing needed).
Time frame
Session 2 (experimental session)2
Neural memory responses
Investigators will measure the neural underpinnings of direct memory and the ability to make inferences.
Time frame
Session 2 (experimental session)Sponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Caitlin Bowman
Lead sponsor
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Sponsor institution
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov