Top-Down Attentional Control of Visual-Processing

NCT01087281 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 10004710-M-0047
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: \- Previous studies have shown that people with certain types of brain damage may have particular problems paying attention and processing things that they see. Researchers are interested in comparing how people with brain damage and without brain damage process visual images. Objectives: \- To better understand the areas of the brain involved in paying attention to things that are seen. Eligibility: \- Individuals at least 18 years of age who either have had damage to one or both sides of specific parts of the brain (e.g., stroke, injury, certain neurosurgery procedures) or are healthy volunteers. Design:

• The study involves 4 to 10 visits to the NIH Clinical Center over 1 to 2 years. Each visit will last approximately 2 hours.
• Participants will be screened with a medical history and physical examination, and may have the cognitive testing described below during the same visit.
• On the first visit and for at least one visit thereafter, participants will have cognitive testing to evaluate thinking and memory. These tests will be either written tests or computer-based tests.
• Some participants will qualify for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as part of the study. This part will involve a decision-making task that will be performed on a computer during the fMRI scan. Additional scans may be required as directed by the study doctors.
• Some randomly selected participants will be asked to have magnetoencephalography (MEG), a procedure to record very small magnetic field changes produced by brain activity.
• During the behavioral training, or fMRI or MEG scanning, participants may be monitored with equipment to track eye movements.

Conditions

Focal Brain Lesion; Focal Lesions; fMRI

Keywords

Visual Attention; Visual Cortex; Focal Lesions; Neurological Disorder; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI); Natural History; Focal Brain Lesion; Healthy Volunteer; HV

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• MRI signal across the whole brain during the MRI scans

  The MRI signal varies with cortical area and with the stimuli and tasks performed by the subjects.

  Ongoing

Study Arms (2)

1

Neurologically normal healthy volunteers in good general health.

2

Patients with unilateral or bilateral focal lesions of prefrontal, parietal, occipital or temporal cortex, or amygdala.

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 100 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy volunteers 18 years of age or older who are neurologically normal and in good general health. Patients 18 years of age or older with unilateral or bilateral focal lesions of prefrontal, parietal, occipital or temporal cortex, or amygdala.

You may qualify if:

• All Subjects
• All subjects will be 18 years of age or older and have at least a high school education.
• Capacity to provide their own informed consent, understand and cooperate with study procedures.
• Able to read and write in English to guarantee understanding of all written and spoken instructions, which are in English.
• Patients:
• Unilateral or bilateral focal lesions of prefrontal, parietal, occipital or temporal cortex, or amygdala.
• At least three months post-stroke, lobectomy and or neurosurgical resection.
• Healthy volunteers:
• \. Neurologically normal and in good general health.

You may not qualify if:

• Patients:
• Any neurological or psychiatric disorder not related to the focal lesion (e.g., epilepsy, schizophrenia, etc.). Epilepsy patients who have undergone surgery and as a result are seizure free may be recruited.
• Previous head injury.
• Present or past (within past 6 months) drug or alcohol abuse or addiction as determined by a qualified study neurologist/psychiatrist.
• Radiation treatment to the brain during a three-month period prior to the experiment.
• Healthy volunteers:
• Any neurological or psychiatric disorder (e.g., epilepsy, schizophrenia, etc.)
• Previous head injury.
• Present or past (within past 6 months) drug or alcohol abuse or addiction based on DSM-5 criteria as determined during History and Physical exam.
• Patients and Healthy volunteers:
• Women who are pregnant and women of child-bearing potential who refuse to undergo a urine pregnancy test will be excluded from fMRI experiments.
• Subjects who have contraindications to MRI scanning will be excluded from fMRI experiments but included in cognitive experiments. These contraindications include:
• central nervous system aneurysm clips;
• implanted neural stimulator;
• implanted cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator;

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (6)

• Bandettini PA, Wong EC, Hinks RS, Tikofsky RS, Hyde JS. Time course EPI of human brain function during task activation. Magn Reson Med. 1992 Jun;25(2):390-7. doi: 10.1002/mrm.1910250220.

  PMID: 1614324 BACKGROUND

• Belliveau JW, Kennedy DN Jr, McKinstry RC, Buchbinder BR, Weisskoff RM, Cohen MS, Vevea JM, Brady TJ, Rosen BR. Functional mapping of the human visual cortex by magnetic resonance imaging. Science. 1991 Nov 1;254(5032):716-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1948051.

  PMID: 1948051 BACKGROUND

• Fox PT, Raichle ME, Mintun MA, Dence C. Nonoxidative glucose consumption during focal physiologic neural activity. Science. 1988 Jul 22;241(4864):462-4. doi: 10.1126/science.3260686.

  PMID: 3260686 BACKGROUND

• Gilmore AW, Audrain S, Snow J, Gollomp E, Wilson JM, Agron AM, Hammoud DA, Butman JA, Martin A. Long-term retention of real-world experiences in a patient with profound amnesia. Neuropsychologia. 2024 Nov 5;204:109010. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.109010. Epub 2024 Oct 9.

  PMID: 39389294 DERIVED

• Zhang H, Japee S, Nolan R, Chu C, Liu N, Ungerleider LG. Face-selective regions differ in their ability to classify facial expressions. Neuroimage. 2016 Apr 15;130:77-90. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.01.045. Epub 2016 Jan 28.

  PMID: 26826513 DERIVED

• Hansen KA, Chu C, Dickinson A, Pye B, Weller JP, Ungerleider LG. Spatial selectivity in the temporoparietal junction, inferior frontal sulcus, and inferior parietal lobule. J Vis. 2015;15(13):15. doi: 10.1167/15.13.15.

  PMID: 26382006 DERIVED

Related Links

• NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web Page

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Nervous System Diseases

Study Officials

• Shruti A Japee, Ph.D.

  National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

NIMH LBC Volunteer

CONTACT

(301) 827-5157; nimhlbcvolunteer@mail.nih.gov

Shruti A Japee, Ph.D.

CONTACT

(301) 402-3682; japees@mail.nih.gov

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: NIH
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2010
• First Posted: March 16, 2010
• Study Start: July 23, 2012
• Last Updated: June 12, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05-28

Locations

US (1)