Brain Plasticity Underlying Acquisition of New Organizational Skills in Children

July 9, 2024 updated by: NYU Langone Health
Organizational, time management and planning (OTMP) skills deficits are impairing features of developmental disorders, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), which compromise school performance and family relations. The manualized Organizational Skills Training program (OST) was designed to target children's specific OTMP deficits. However, the brain mechanisms of treatment-induced changes remain unknown. The current study combines a training intervention (OST) with non-invasive MRI imaging in a pre-/post-design in a randomized two-arm (treatment vs. waitlist) trial to address this question.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
59

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • NYU Langone Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

4 years to 8 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age at entry: age ≥ 8.0 and ≤ 11.9 years corresponding to grades 3-5
  • Written assent by child and consent by parent or legal guardian
  • IQ: Estimated full scale IQ ≥ 85 and language comprehension scores ≥ 8
  • Organizational skills deficits defined as elevated (≥ 1SD) pre-treatment Children's Organizational Skills Scales (COSS) Parent Total T-score and at least one COSS Parent Interference item rated as either a 3 or 4 (indicating an above-average level of impairment)
  • Must provide adequate MRI data at baseline

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Enrolled in a self-contained special education classroom or served by a 1:1 paraprofessional in their classroom
  • Absence of signed consent by parent or legal guardian
  • Children who dissent regardless of parental permission
  • Full scale IQ < 85
  • Children with a recent (past 6 months) or current history of neuroleptic treatment or current treatment with psychotropic medications other than stimulants
  • Per history (and medical records if needed) medical illness requiring chronic current treatment
  • History of intrathecal chemotherapy or focal cranial irradiation
  • Premature birth (< 32 weeks estimated gestational age or birth weight < 1500g)
  • History of leukomalacia or static encephalopathy, intracerebral hemorrhage beyond grade 2, other specific or focal neurological or metabolic disorder including epilepsy (except for resolved febrile seizures)
  • History of traumatic brain injury
  • Contraindication for MRI scanning (metal implants, pacemakers, metal foreign bodies or pregnancy)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: No-Wait
Participants with organizational skill difficulties to undergo two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions: one within 2 weeks prior to OST treatment and one within 2 weeks of completion of the OST treatment.
Behavioral: Organizational Skills Training
OST targets three core organizational skills domains - Tracking Assignments, Managing Materials and Time Management - in a program consisting of sessions over 12 weeks, each training lasting about 1 hour, and corresponding 30-60 minute weekly review sessions with the parent and the child, 2-3 days following each training session.
Active Comparator: Waitlist
Participants with organizational skill difficulties to undergo two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions: one 12 weeks prior to OST treatment and one ~12 weeks after their first scan and before proceeding to OST.
Behavioral: Organizational Skills Training
OST targets three core organizational skills domains - Tracking Assignments, Managing Materials and Time Management - in a program consisting of sessions over 12 weeks, each training lasting about 1 hour, and corresponding 30-60 minute weekly review sessions with the parent and the child, 2-3 days following each training session.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in the Intrinsic Functional Connectivity (iFC) Between Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC) and Default Mode Network Subdivision of the Anterior Ventral Striatum (aVS-DMN)
Time Frame: baseline MRI, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)
The iFC between the two regions was measured at both baseline and follow-up by calculating the Fisher Z-transformed correlation between the average time-series of all voxels within each region of interest (positive values indicate increased iFC between the two regions, while negative values indicate decreased iFC). Then, to determine the change in iFC due to the intervention/waitlist period, the iFC between both regions at baseline was subtracted from the iFC between both regions at follow-up. Therefore, this provides a measure of the change in iFC due to the intervention or waitlist period, with positive values indicating an increase in iFC and negative values indicating a decrease in iFC due to the intervention/waitlist period.
baseline MRI, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)
Change in Parent Children's Organizational Skills Scales (COSS-P) Total T-scores Following OST Intervention
Time Frame: baseline, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)
The Children's Organizational Skills Scale quantifies how children (ages 8-13) organize their time, materials, and actions to accomplish important tasks at home and school. The Parent report consists of 66 questions, each using a 4-point Likert-type scale (where 1=Hardly ever or never and 4=just about all the time). Scores are normalized to a T-distribution, with a population mean of 50; scores of 60 or above are considered evidence of deficient organizational skills.
baseline, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)
Change in the Intrinsic Functional Connectivity (iFC) Between Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC) and Fronto Parietal Network Subdivision of the Anterior Ventral Striatum (aVS-FP)
Time Frame: baseline MRI, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)
The iFC between the two regions was measured at both baseline and follow-up by calculating the Fisher Z-transformed correlation between the average time-series of all voxels within each region of interest (positive values indicate increased iFC between the two regions, while negative values indicate decreased iFC). Then, to determine the change in iFC due to the intervention/waitlist period, the iFC between both regions at baseline was subtracted from the iFC between both regions at follow-up. Therefore, this provides a measure of the change in iFC due to the intervention or waitlist period, with positive values indicating an increase in iFC and negative values indicating a decrease in iFC due to the intervention/waitlist period.
baseline MRI, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)
Change in the Intrinsic Functional Connectivity (iFC) Between Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC) and Limbic Network Subdivision of the Anterior Ventral Striatum (aVS-LIM)
Time Frame: baseline MRI, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)
The iFC between the two regions was measured at both baseline and follow-up by calculating the Fisher Z-transformed correlation between the average time-series of all voxels within each region of interest (positive values indicate increased iFC between the two regions, while negative values indicate decreased iFC). Then, to determine the change in iFC due to the intervention/waitlist period, the iFC between both regions at baseline was subtracted from the iFC between both regions at follow-up. Therefore, this provides a measure of the change in iFC due to the intervention or waitlist period, with positive values indicating an increase in iFC and negative values indicating a decrease in iFC due to the intervention/waitlist period.
baseline MRI, second MRI visit (treatment arm ~14 weeks, waitlist arm ~12 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
NYU Langone Health

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Francisco Castellanos, MD, New York Langone Health

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 20, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 26, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 26, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 30, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 1, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 9, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • s17-00263
  • R61MH113663 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data will be provided to the NIMH Data Archive (NDA) for sharing to investigators

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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