NCT00872183

Brief Summary

Background:

  • Techniques that teach finger movements are commonly used to explore how humans learn to move. Researchers have designed a simple, new method of learning finger movements, which will be explored for the first time in this study. The method is based on how individuals mimic other people's movements.
  • Previous studies have shown that a brain protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may be important in movement and in learning. There are normal variations in the gene for BDNF. As an optional component, this study will also look at whether these gene variations are associated with differences in movement learning. Objectives:
  • To compare the new motor learning technique with a classic technique to test its usefulness.
  • To examine whether genetic variations have an effect on motor learning. Eligibility:
  • Healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 50, who are right-handed. Design:
  • The study will involve two visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.
  • Visit 1: Medical and neurologic examination to determine whether the volunteer is eligible to participate further in the study. This screening visit will take about 1 hour.
  • Visit 2: Volunteers will perform a motor learning task by interacting with a computer program. In response to images on the computer monitor, volunteers will press buttons on the keyboard as quickly and accurately as possible. The motor learning task will last up to 3 hours.
  • If a volunteer agrees to genetic testing, researchers will also draw blood for study. Genetic testing is not required to participate in the motor learning parts of the study.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
76

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for all trials

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2009

Typical duration for all trials

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 25, 2009

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

March 28, 2009

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 31, 2009

Completed
3.1 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

May 3, 2012

Completed
Last Updated

July 2, 2017

Status Verified

May 3, 2012

First QC Date

March 28, 2009

Last Update Submit

June 30, 2017

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Motor LearningMirror NeuronsHealthy VolunteerHV

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 50 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Age 18-50 years
  • Right-handedness

You may not qualify if:

  • Arthritis or other physically limiting disability, amputation, or significant trauma of either hand
  • Professional musician or stenographer
  • Persistent neurologic deficit of cognition, movement, or sensation or any history of a central nervous system lesion
  • Regular use of any neurotropic or psychotropic medication (e.g., narcotic analgesic, anxiolytic, anti-histamine) or any use within twenty-four hours of the motor learning task.
  • Blindness or visual acuity lower than necessary to distinguish visual stimuli on the display monitor
  • Impaired decisional capacity or inability to provide informed consent
  • Previous experience with a serial reaction time task type of study
  • Nasopharyngeal illness, injury, or dysfunction (Phase III only)
  • Inability to smell odorized air during screening exam (Phase III only)
  • Pregnancy (Phases II and III only)

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

  • Abrahamse EL, Verwey WB. Context dependent learning in the serial RT task. Psychol Res. 2008 Jul;72(4):397-404. doi: 10.1007/s00426-007-0123-5. Epub 2007 Aug 3.

    PMID: 17674034BACKGROUND

  • Ashe J, Lungu OV, Basford AT, Lu X. Cortical control of motor sequences. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2006 Apr;16(2):213-21. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2006.03.008. Epub 2006 Mar 24.

    PMID: 16563734BACKGROUND

  • Bird G, Osman M, Saggerson A, Heyes C. Sequence learning by action, observation and action observation. Br J Psychol. 2005 Aug;96(Pt 3):371-88. doi: 10.1348/000712605X47440.

    PMID: 16131413BACKGROUND

Study Officials

  • Bibiana Bielekova, M.D.

    National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
observational
Time Perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Sponsor Type
NIH

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

March 28, 2009

First Posted

March 31, 2009

Study Start

March 25, 2009

Study Completion

May 3, 2012

Last Updated

July 2, 2017

Record last verified: 2012-05-03

Locations

US(1)