The Locus Coeruleus and Memory

NCT02363504 | Unknown DMC

• 1 other identifier: NL51297.068.14
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 70
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The cause of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, remains unknown. Neuropathological studies suggest that a small area in the brainstem, the locus coeruleus, might be the site of the onset of the disease. This area is the sole source of noradrenalin to the brain, a neurotransmitter involved in arousal, but also cognitive functions. Animal and pharmacological studies have hinted towards an important role of this area in memory functioning. However, these studies were hampered by the limited spatial resolution, making it hard to clearly localize the locus coeruleus in the brain. New developments in brain imaging allow now to visualize the brain with stunning precision. Furthermore, a non-invasive new stimulation method, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation, is believed to excite the locus coeruleus and thereby influencing neuronal networks and memory functioning. There are three aims in this project:

1. 1.To investigate how the functional interaction between the locus coeruleus and other brain areas, in particular the medial temporal lobe areas, during memory processes (encoding, consolidation and retrieval) change with development of Alzheimer's disease.
2. 2.To investigate associations between noradrenaline, memory performance and brain functioning. The investigators aim to investigate how acute noradrenalin levels change during the different memory processes and whether or not this is beneficial for performance. Furthermore, the investigators will investigate whether this interaction between noradrenalin, memory performance and brain functioning is different healthy older individuals (n =35) or patients with prodromal Alzheimer's disease (n =35).
3. 3.To investigate the underlying neural network changes during transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation. The investigators will focus on differences in functional connectivity between the locus coeruleus and the medial temporal lobe areas in healthy older individuals and prodromal Alzheimer's disease patients. An experimental condition will be compared with a sham condition in a pseudo-randomized cross-over design.

Conditions

Alzheimer's Disease

Keywords

Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Noradrenaline; locus coeruleus; memory

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) response during a memory task

  BOLD response contrasts during encoding and retrieval. For encoding: comparing neutral versus emotional, comparing old versus prodromal AD and the interaction emotional level by group. For retrieval: correctly remembered versus those incorrectly remembered; neutral versus emotional faces; lures, mistakes and hits. These contrasts will be investigated comparing both groups. BOLD responses during the memory task will also be compared across sessions (sham versus stimulation) for both groups. Consolidation: task-free, so the BOLD response in the locus coeruleus will be correlated with the BOLD response in any other voxel of the grey matter of the brain over time (seed-based resting-state analyses).

  60 minutes

• Performance on the memory task

  Mean reaction times and accuracy levels during encoding and retrieval for emotional and neutral face-name associations and for old and prodromal AD patients. Mean reaction times and accuracy levels will also be compared across sessions: sham versus stimulation for both groups Mean reaction times and accuracy levels will also be correlated with BOLD responses during the memory task.

  60 minutes

• Noradrenalin levels during the memory task

  Noradrenalin levels will be measured 7 times: double baseline, before encoding, after encoding, before retrieval, after retrieval and follow-up. Noradrenalin levels will be correlated with BOLD responses during the memory task.

  60 minutes

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Grey matter volume of the locus coeruleus

  5 mintues

• shape properties of the locus coeruleus

  5 minutes

• Performance on neuropsychological tests

  30 minutes

Other Outcomes (5)

• Basic descriptives

  15 minutes

• Vascular measurements

  15 min

• Alpha-peak frequency

  30 minutes

Study Arms (2)

Healthy older controls

7 Tesla MRI with memory task and non-invasive neurostimulation

Other: 7 Tesla MRI with memory task and non-invasive neurostimulation

Prodromal Alzheimer's disease patients

7 Tesla MRI with memory task and non-invasive neurostimulation

Other: 7 Tesla MRI with memory task and non-invasive neurostimulation

Interventions

7 Tesla MRI with memory task and non-invasive neurostimulation OTHER

This is not an intervention, we investigate the neural mechanisms

Healthy older controls; Prodromal Alzheimer's disease patients

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years - 85 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

35 healthy older individuals and 35 patients with prodromal Alzheimer's disease

You may qualify if:

• For the patients:
• diagnosis of prodromal Alzheimer's disease based on the latest research criteria (clinical assessment at the memory clinic : presence of at least a memory impairment, memory complaints expressed by the patient or informant, no problems in daily life functioning, no dementia and presence of biomarkers
• Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0.5 (
• Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) ≥ 23 and being mentally competent (in general, individuals with a MMSE ≥ 18 are considered mentally competent)
• Age: between 60 and 85 years old
• % female
• Right-handedness
• Average level of education
• Informed consent before participation in the study
• For the healthy older individuals:
• Average neuropsychological test results, in accordance with normative data, corrected for age, education and gender
• No substantial memory complaints (according to the participant)
• Age: between 60 and 85 years old
• % female
• Right-handedness

You may not qualify if:

• Reduced vision
• Psychoactive medication use
• Abuse of alcohol and drugs
• Cognitive impairment due to alcohol/drug abuse or abuse of other substances
• Past or present psychiatric or neurological disorders (major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder (or treatment for it), epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, brain surgery, brain trauma, electroshock therapy, kidney dialysis, Menière's disease, brain infections)
• Major vascular disorders (e.g. stroke)
• Heart diseases or pacemakers
• Contraindications for scanning (e.g. brain surgery, cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, claustrophobia, body tattoos)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Maastricht University Medical Center: lead
• Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Maastricht University

Maastricht, Netherlands

RECRUITING

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITHOUT DNA

Saliva samples

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dementia; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Frans Verhey, Prof

  Maastricht University Medical Centre

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Central Study Contacts

Heidi Jacobs, PhD

CONTACT

+31433884090; h.jacobs@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: OTHER
• Target Duration: 2 Months
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 4, 2015
• First Posted: February 16, 2015
• Study Start: February 1, 2017
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2020
• Study Completion: December 1, 2020
• Last Updated: February 28, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-02

Locations

NL (1)