Brain Activity in Visual-Motor Behavior

NCT00077038 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 04011704-N-0117
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will examine how the brain works when people look at an object, follow a moving object with their eyes, and reach out their hand to an object. Different areas of the brain work together in reaching out a hand to an object. These areas are also important for concentrating on objects or following them with the eyes. This study will use magnetoencephalography (MEG) to observe more precisely how discrete parts of the brain work during these movements. MEG is a new technique for recording magnetic field changes produced by brain activity. Healthy normal volunteers 20 years of age and older who are right-handed and who have no history of brain or eye disease may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history and brief physical examination. They will complete questionnaires for MEG screening and for determining handedness. Participants undergo MEG recording and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). For MEG, the subject sits comfortably in front of a computer screen, and a cone containing magnetic field detectors is lowered onto the head. Electrodes are placed on both sides of the outer part of the eyelids and just above and below the left eye to monitor eye movement. During MEG, subjects perform the following tasks:

1. 1.Eye fixation: A small white cross and a white ring appear on the center of the computer screen. Another white ring moves slowly around the screen in random fashion. Subjects keep their eyes fixed on the central cross and concentrate on the ring at the center, ignoring the moving ring.
2. 2.Ocular tracking: The same cross and rings in task 1 appear on the screen, but in this task the subjects follow the moving ring with their eyes and ignore the cross and ring in the center.
3. 3.Peripheral manual tracking task (right hand): In addition to the cross and rings in task 1, a small white disc-shaped cursor appears on the screen. Using their right hand, subjects use a joystick to move the cursor as precisely as possible to follow the moving ring, while keeping their eyes fixed on the central cross.
4. 4.Peripheral manual tracking task (left hand): The same as task 3, except using the left hand.
5. 5.Central manual tracking: The cross, rings, and joystick are the same as in task 3. Subjects move the cursor to follow the moving ring as precisely as possible, while following the moving ring with their eyes and ignoring the cross and ring in the center of the screen.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Visual Feedback; Cortical Connectivity; Magnetoencephalography; Eye Tracking; Healthy Volunteer; HV

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• The subjects must be 20 years old or older and right-handed as screened by Edinburgh handedness inventory.
• They must be healthy and have no known history of neurological or ophthalmological diseases.

You may not qualify if:

• Subjects under the age of 20 will be excluded from this study.
• Subjects who match the criteria below will be excluded from this study due to human subject protection and because they may negatively affect the MEG data quality.
• Subjects wearing glasses.
• Subjects with involuntary movement or dyskinesia.
• Subjects with spontaneous nystagmus.
• Subjects who can not execute the eye or manual tracking after sufficient practice time.
• Subjects with metal objects in the body.
• Subjects with history of severe head trauma.
• Pregnant women.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Glover S. Optic ataxia as a deficit specific to the on-line control of actions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2003 Aug;27(5):447-56. doi: 10.1016/s0149-7634(03)00072-1.

  PMID: 14505686 BACKGROUND

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Sponsor Type: NIH

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2004
• First Posted: February 10, 2004
• Study Start: February 6, 2004
• Study Completion: March 31, 2007
• Last Updated: July 2, 2017

Record last verified: 2007-03-31

Locations

US (1)