fMRI Studies of Memory and Perception

October 1, 2026 updated by: Chris Martin, Florida State University

Episodic memory allows us to project ourselves back in time to mentally re-experience the past in vivid detail. This remarkable feat helps to define our personal identities and enables context-appropriate predictions that guide adaptive behavior. Unfortunately, episodic memory loss is a common cognitive consequence of neurological disease, psychiatric disorders, and normative aging, that reflects dysfunction in the hippocampus and the neocortical network to which it connects. This decline can present along a range of severity that spans an impoverished ability to recollect fine-grained event details, e.g., the color of the shirt your spouse was wearing at a birthday party, to forgetting course-grained event details, e.g., having attended a birthday party last weekend. Treating these kinds of memory loss remains challenging because interventions must target information that is definitionally idiosyncratic. However, recent methodological and theoretical advances in cognitive neuroscience reveal novel strategies that may solve this problem. Evidence from behavioral, neuroimaging, and computational modeling studies suggest that the degree to which episodic memories overlap in the hippocampus can be modified in a predictable, experience-dependent manner. Specifically, strong concurrent reactivation of multiple memories can enhance recall of coarse-grained episodic information by increasing hippocampal integration. Conversely, coupling strong and moderate reactivation of memories can enhance recall of fine-grained episodic information be increasing hippocampal differentiation. Consistent with this idea, recent evidence suggests that using a smartphone to record and subsequently replay real-world memory cues can indeed improve episodic memory by reducing representational overlap among memories in the hippocampus. Against this background, this proposal is organized around two primary aims. First, we seek to establish smartphone-guided memory reactivation protocols that selectively promote integration and differentiation of real-world episodic memories in the hippocampus. Experiments in this aim will specifically ask whether unstructured and structured (in terms of narrative, space, and time) reactivation can be used to achieve these outcomes. Second, we will ask whether the benefits of memory reactivation are associated with behavioral and representational costs. Experiments in this aim will probe for undesirable downsides that accompany, or potentially explain, reactivation-based improvements in episodic memory. Our approach combines smartphone technology, pattern-based analysis of functional neuroimaging data, and careful characterization of recall data with neurocognitive theory inspired by computational models of learning mechanisms. Achieving our aims will establish an empirical foundation on which future interventions can be built to systematically target real-world episodic memories at a level of abstraction, i.e., fine-grained vs. coarse-grained detail, that is appropriate for the severity of memory loss.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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 (Estimated)

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.
170

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
    • Florida
      • Tallahassee, Florida, United States, 32306
        • Recruiting
        • Florida State University
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Chris Martin, PhD

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

18 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Normal or corrected-to-normal vision. Normal hearing. -

Exclusion Criteria: Metallic implants, claustrophobia, left-handed.

-

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • 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: Within-subject design

All subjects enrolled and participated in this study will be in the same arm.
Other: Participants use a smartphone to replay self-generated autobiographical memory cues.

Participants will use HippoCamera, a smartphone application, to record and replay memory cues.

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
functional MRI data
Time Frame: fMRI data will be obtained from each participant at the end of each of four separate experiments. Data collection will take place at the end of a six week record and replay period.

Subject-specific functional images of the brain.
fMRI data will be obtained from each participant at the end of each of four separate experiments. Data collection will take place at the end of a six week record and replay period.
Neuroanatomical images
Time Frame: MRI data will be obtained from each participant at the end of each of four separate experiments. Data collection will take place at the end of a six week record and replay period.

Static brain images that capture subject-specific anatomy
MRI data will be obtained from each participant at the end of each of four separate experiments. Data collection will take place at the end of a six week record and replay period.

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.
Florida State University

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)

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.
July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
January 31, 2031

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
January 31, 2031

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).
October 1, 2026

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.
October 1, 2026

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.
October 6, 2026

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.
October 6, 2026

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.
October 1, 2026

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.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • STUDY00002203
  • R01MH142884 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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