Spatial and Dynamic Characterization of Brain Activity for Language and Posture (Verticality) During Normal Aging. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Study (MEG-AGING) (MEG-AGING)

May 6, 2022 updated by: University Hospital, Grenoble

Depending on the point of view, different definitions of aging have been proposed. Thus, at the biological level, aging corresponds to a natural physiological process that leads to the progressive degeneration of cells and the slowing down of the vital functions of a living organism. More generally, aging is a multifactorial and multidimensional process that occurs at the cognitive, social, biological or psychological level.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the balance between activation (Task-Positive Network : TPN-Language, L, TPN-Verticality, V) and rest (Task-Negative Network : TNN) activity during normal aging, in two domains (language and posturo-spatial perception of verticality).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

From a cognitive point of view, although healthy older people become slower to analyze information, they remain just as accurate as young adults in performing different cognitive tasks. This necessarily implies compensation processes, with new cognitive strategies and a restructuring of the brain networks underlying these processes. These compensatory phenomena are known under the general name of neurocognitive reserve.

Specific functions such as language, visuospatial skills, motor control, posture, or memory, are affected in a very variable way among the elderly. This variability involves multiple cognitive profiles rather than just one form of aging. Indeed, healthy aging can be defined cognitively in two ways, as a homogeneous or rather heterogeneous process. According to the homogeneous hypothesis of aging, the behavioral, cognitive and brain-like manifestations are similar among the elderly, without differentiation between functions. In other words, according to this hypothesis, aging would affect all the elderly and cognitive processes in the same way. Conversely, according to the heterogeneous hypothesis, significant differences should be revealed between individuals and in the same individual according to different cognitive processes. This heterogeneity is explained by multiple factors (genetic, environmental, societal, educational, or lifestyle). If neuropsychological tests or behavioral experiments (and performance of the task) allow to identify rather easily the differences encountered among the elderly in terms of cognitive heterogeneity, this differential activity at the cerebral level is more difficult to highlight. Functional neuroimaging methods and techniques can provide a pathway for this purpose, to provide both spatial information (involved brain regions) and temporal information (dynamics of brain activation) when performing cognitive tasks or when the rest period.

In this context, the magnetoencephalography (MEG) method is a preferred technique that can provide all these types of information on brain activity. Two types of networks can therefore be recorded : task-positive network (TPN) activated when the participant is involved in a task (in this project, language and posture / verticality), and task-negative network (TNN) specific to the state of rest , represented by regions that are called "deactivated". These two networks will therefore be characterized in the study by the following parameters: (a) network: set of regions involved; (b) temporal dynamics of their activity, and (c) functional connectivity between the regions of TPN and TNN.

To answer the question of homogeneity vs. heterogeneity of cognitive cerebral aging, TPNs vs. TNN will be compared in a group of healthy young adults compared to a group of healthy elderly subjects. The comparison will be made for the three categories of parameters mentioned above (a-c).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • France
      • Grenoble, France, 38000
        • CHUGA

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

Ages Eligible for Study

25 years to 85 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy volunteers from 25 to 85 years old : young group (25-49 years) / aged group (50 to 85 years)
  • Right-handed
  • Signed informed consent
  • French mother tongue
  • Speaking fluent French
  • Normal or corrected view
  • Medical examination conducted prior to participation in the trial
  • Registered in the French social security scheme

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Contraindication to Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and/or Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) : implanted material, claustrophobia,…
  • Generally severe condition: cardiac, respiratory, hematological, kidney, liver, cancer
  • Regular use of anxiolytics, sedatives, antidepressants, neuroleptics
  • Psychiatric pathology characterized
  • Alcohol ingestion before the exam
  • All categories of protected persons (Pregnant or lactating women, persons subject to a legal protection measure, persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision)
  • Alcohol ingestion before the exam
  • Participation in other ongoing clinical trial with exclusion period or in the previous week
  • Score MINI MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION (MMSE) < 24

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: NON_RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: NONE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Young group
Young Right-handed healthy volunteers
Behavioral: Cognitive tasks
MagnetoEncephaloGraphy (MEG) records
EXPERIMENTAL: Aged group
Aged Right-handed healthy volunteers
Behavioral: Cognitive tasks
MagnetoEncephaloGraphy (MEG) records

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Balance between activation (TPN-Language, L, TPN-Verticality, V) and rest (TNN) activity during normal aging, in two domains (language and posturo-spatial perception of verticality) recorded by magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Time Frame: 2 hours
Evoked and continuous magnetic fields recorded during both cognitive tasks and during the rest period
2 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Correlation between neuropsychological scores and brain activation or functional connectivity parameters recorded by magnetoencephalography (MEG) depending on both domains studied
Time Frame: 1 hour

Neuropsychological scores on tests for all participants :

  • frontal cognitive functioning
  • anxiety and/or depressive symptoms
  • executive functions
  • verbal intelligence
  • language

Advanced analyses of cerebral activity as measured by MEG

  • frequency time analyses via spectral decomposition (induced brain rhythms)
  • functional and effective connectivity analysis through coherence, phase locking value, and Dynamic Causal Modelling measures
1 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Hospital, Grenoble

Collaborators

Commissariat A L'energie Atomique
Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Monica BACIU, MD, PhD, CHUGA

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

October 1, 2019

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

June 22, 2021

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

June 22, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 25, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2019

First Posted (ACTUAL)

July 29, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

May 9, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2022

Last Verified

May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 38RC18.294
  • 2019-A01065-52 (OTHER: ANSM ID RCB)

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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