Neurobiological Mechanisms of Aging and Stress on Prospective Navigation

NCT03896529 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: H18233R21AG063131
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 85
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Two hallmarks of both healthy aging and age-related disease are 1) memory and navigational deficits, particularly in orienting towards goal locations and planning how to navigate to them, and 2) increased susceptibility to stress and altered regulation of the stress response. However, there are marked individual differences in these age-related changes. The investigators' proposal will help characterize factors that contribute to this variability. Participants will be pseudorandomly assigned to stress-manipulated or control groups. The investigators will give both groups a novel immersive navigation task, validated by the PI in healthy young adults. This paradigm gives participants the opportunity to either (a) flexibly draw on spatial memory in order to plan efficient routes to goal locations, or (b) fall back on inefficient, but cognitively less-demanding, stimulus-response associations (i.e., habits). Using neuroimaging and behavioral measures, the investigators' protocol will test whether experimentally-induced stress leads individuals to bring fewer details about future locations to mind when route planning, and whether such restricted prospective thought ultimately biases participants towards relatively inflexible, habitual actions.

Conditions

Aging; Anxiety; Memory Impairment

Keywords

Aging; Spatial Memory; Stress; fMRI

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Behavioral probability of taking a shortcut between control and treatment groups

  Probability of taking a virtual navigation shortcut on an fMRI task trial, compared between stress and control groups. Measurement tool: objective categorical measure (no scale) reflecting proportion of trials in which participants traverse the shortcut road or, alternatively, the familiar (longer) road in a virtual environment.

  Approximately 1.5 years

• fMRI activation level between control and treatment groups

  Network activation levels (across frontoparietal, hippocampal, and striatal memory network) during fMRI task trials, compared between stress and control groups. Measurement tool: fMRI activity level. Scale: continuous activity level estimates from fMRI.

  Approximately 1.5 years

• Neural memory representation reactivation between control and treatment groups

  Memory reactivation levels in neural activity patterns during fMRI task, compared between stress and control groups. Measurement tool: Machine learning algorithm trained to decode fMRI patterns across voxels. Scale: algorithm success at classifying fMRI patterns according to the correct location memory for a given fMRI task trial

  Approximately 1.5 years

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Relationship between fMRI activity level and behavioral probability of taking a shortcut.

  Approximately 1.5 years

• 2. Salivary cortisol (stress hormone) response difference between stress and control participant groups.

  Approximately 1.5 years

Study Arms (2)

No-stress control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in this group will perform the psychology tasks (virtual navigation) without any manipulation of psychological stress

Stress group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this group will perform the psychology tasks (virtual navigation) under manipulated psychological stress (anticipatory threat of shock)

Behavioral: Anticipatory psychological stress

Interventions

Anticipatory psychological stress BEHAVIORAL

Unpredictable delivery of low-level electrical stimulation to left ankle periodically throughout psychology tasks (virtual navigation). Established procedure for inducing anticipatory stress.

Stress group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• adults 65-80
• U.S. citizens or permanent residents
• who speak fluent English
• willing to come to Georgia Tech to participate in group testing sessions.

You may not qualify if:

• Individuals will be carefully screened using IRB-approved procedures for safety contraindications to MRI and electrical shock stimulation
• (e.g., metal or electrical implants, heart arrhythmia, or medication affecting the cardiovascular system \[e.g. beta-blockers\]).
• Epilepsy
• Dementia
• Parkinson's disease
• history of stroke or seizure
• psychiatric disorders
• untreated depression or emotional conditions
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Multiple Sclerosis
• uncontrolled hyper- or hypo-tension
• untreated Diabetes
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• regularly use illegal or psychoactive drugs (e.g., cocaine, alcohol abuse, etc).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Georgia Institute of Technology: lead
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Center for Advance Brain Imaging

Atlanta, Georgia, 30318, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders; Memory Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Thackery I Brown, Ph.D.

  Georgia Institute of Technology

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Thackery I Brown, Ph.D.

CONTACT

404-894-1123; thackery.brown@psych.gatech.edu

Scott Moffat, Ph.D.

CONTACT

404-894-6772; scott.moffat@psych.gatech.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Behavioral (Psychological stress manipulation). Between-subjects design. Participants will be assigned to either a stress-manipulated or control (no stress induced) group.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 25, 2019
• First Posted: April 1, 2019
• Study Start: September 24, 2019
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Last Updated: April 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)