Resilience and Modification of Brain Control Network Following November 13 (REMEMBER)

Etude Longitudinale en Imagerie cérébrale, en Neuropsychologie, et en Psychopathologie, Des conséquences d'un événement Traumatique

This is a multiwave longitudinal neuroimaging study in a cohort of direct survivors of 11/13 Paris terrorist attacks. Both structural and functional brain imaging data will be collected at 8-12 months, 3 years, and 6 years after trauma in exposed participants as well as in control non-exposed participants. This project will capitalize on recent evidence showing that healthy participants can prevent unwanted images from entering consciousness using inhibitory control and memory suppression techniques, disrupting traces of the memories in sensory areas of the brain, and weakening their vividness and later reentrance. This process is believed to be affected in Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which is characterized by anxiety and persistent intrusive memory of the traumatic event with highly distressing contents. This project will thus provide a unique opportunity to observe the online and structural dysfunctions of intrusion control network following a severe psychological trauma and how such process may contribute to recovery and psychopathological dynamics. In addition, the disruption of social cognition and emotional processing following PTSD will also be investigated in relation to disrupted inhibitory control functioning.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Behavioral: Psychopathological assessment; Behavioral: Neuropsychological assessment

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 216
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Calvados
    • Caen, Calvados, France, 14000
      • GIP Cyceron

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 55 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants between 18 and 55 years old.
• Present at the scene of the attacks the evening of 13 November 2015 or inhabitant of one of the neighbourhood affected by the attacks (exposed group), or persons were not in Paris on the evening of the attacks and not residing in Paris and its region (unexposed group).
• Affiliated to the French national health care system
• Have a good knowledge of the French language
• Right-handed
• Body mass less than or equal to 35kg/m2
• Signed written consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy or intent to get pregnant
• Person deprived of their liberty
• Person admitted to a health or social institution for purposes other than research
• Minor
• Person subjected to an exclusion period related to another protocol
• History of severe psychiatric disorders before the attacks : psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and / or substance use disorders (excluding tobacco addiction)
• Use of medication that may interfere with cognitive or cerebral functioning
• Presence of visual or hearing troubles that may compromise participant's ability to participate in the study
• MRI Contraindications

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exposed group; Psychopathological assessment Neuropsychological assessment Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)	Device: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Behavioral: Psychopathological assessment; Behavioral: Neuropsychological assessment
Experimental: unexposed group; Psychopathological assessment Neuropsychological assessment Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)	Device: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Behavioral: Psychopathological assessment; Behavioral: Neuropsychological assessment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) response as measured with fMRI	1 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Vincent de La Sayette, MD, University Hospital, Caen

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Coll SY, Eustache F, Doidy F, Fraisse F, Peschanski D, Dayan J, Gagnepain P, Laisney M. Avoidance behaviour generalizes to eye processing in posttraumatic stress disorder. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2022 Apr 20;13(1):2044661. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2022.2044661. eCollection 2022.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 13, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 12, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): December 16, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 20, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 20, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): June 22, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 18, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 13, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Tomography; Diagnostic Imaging; Psychological Tests; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuropsychological Tests
• Other Study ID Numbers: C16-13