Electroencephalographic Study of the Mechanisms of Inhibition of Emotional Memories in Young Healthy Subjects (ENGRAMME)

Etude Par électroencéphalographie Des mécanismes d'Inhibition de Souvenirs émotionnels Chez le Sujet Jeune Sain

Forgetfulness has long been considered a pathology of memory. However, the brain's voluntary suppression of certain unpleasant memories is essential for building a healthy memory. This suppression capacity can be measured using the "Think/No-Think" (TNT) paradigm.However, while the areas involved in these processes of suppression are now well described, the nature and temporal dynamics of the processes of inhibition and orientation of attention is still poorly defined. The aim of this study is to describe the nature of the attentional and inhibitory mechanisms involved in the suppression of emotionally negative memories, and their temporal articulation using electroencephalography (EEG). To this end, we will use a model of memory deletion derived from a perceptual attentional task and simulating the deletion phase in order to control the nature and timing of the processes involved. This approach will allow us to observe the presence of correspondences between the responses measured during the attentional test simulating the suppression and the actual phase of suppression, for which we cannot control the nature of the operations undertaken by the subject. In addition, we will assess the emotional response through physiological measures of autonomic nervous system activity (heart rate and electrodermal response) immediately after the TNT phase or one day later, which will allow us to evaluate the influence of memory suppression mechanisms on their emotional content.

From a practical point of view, this study is organized into 3 groups of participants (healthy young adults). Each group will perform a perceptual attentional test and a TNT task, which will be preceded and followed by a measure of emotional response. Group 1 will allow us to test our main hypothesis from a behavioral point of view, as well as to calibrate the attentional task and its consistency with the TNT task. Group 2 will carry out the same tests but during an EEG examination to decode the temporal dynamics of attention states during the process of memory suppression. Group 3 will perform these same tests with a 24-hour interval between the TNT phase and the emotional assessment to estimate the effect of a retention period on forgetfulness functions.

The description of these mechanisms and their physiological correlates will allow us to better understand how this ability to voluntarily control the flow of thoughts associated with negative memories is implemented, and thus to better understand the alterations in this capacity that can be observed during certain mental pathologies such as anxiety or depression.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression; Anxiety; Cognitive Control
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Cognitive Assessments; Device: Eye-tracking; Device: Electroencephalography (EEG); Device: Electrocardiography (ECG)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 78
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Caen, France, 140330 Caen Cedex 9
    • Service de neurologie CHU de Caen

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female aged between 18 and 35 years
• Affiliated to a social security scheme
• Having French as their mother tongue
• Right-handed
• High school graduate or equivalent
• Having signed a written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy in progress, pregnancy test will be performed
• Person deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision
• Person hospitalized without consent and not subject to legal protection measures, and person admitted to a health or social care facility for purposes other than research
• Minor
• Adults subject to legal protection measure (guardianship, curatorship or judicial protection), adults unable to express their consent and not subject to protection measure
• Person subject to an exclusion for another research
• History of a neurological, psychiatric disorders, or head trauma with loss of consciousness for more than an hour
• History of cancer over the last 5 years, with the exception of squamous cell carcinomas of the skin
• Presence or history of chronic alcoholism or drug addiction
• Taking medications that may alter cognitive and/or brain function (decision of the principal investigator)
• Presence of visual and/or auditory disorders sufficiently significant to affect the progress of the tests
• Contraindications to electroencephalography
• Presentation of unpleasant images that are too emotionally disturbing for the participant (by decision of the physician)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: pretest healthy participants	Behavioral: Cognitive Assessments; Cognitive Assessments; Device: Eye-tracking; measurement of the points of gaze; Device: Electroencephalography (EEG); Electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain; Device: Electrocardiography (ECG); measurement of the electrical activity of the heart
Experimental: healthy participant 10 min delayed recall; 10 min delayed recall	Behavioral: Cognitive Assessments; Cognitive Assessments; Device: Eye-tracking; measurement of the points of gaze; Device: Electroencephalography (EEG); Electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain; Device: Electrocardiography (ECG); measurement of the electrical activity of the heart
Experimental: healthy participant 24 h delayed recall; 24 h delayed recall	Behavioral: Cognitive Assessments; Cognitive Assessments; Device: Eye-tracking; measurement of the points of gaze; Device: Electroencephalography (EEG); Electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain; Device: Electrocardiography (ECG); measurement of the electrical activity of the heart

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Completion psychopathological scales	Entered into a computer	Inclusion visit
Measurement of the electrodermal conductance	For emotional evaluation when presenting negative images	Day1
Measuremet of heart rate	For emotional evaluation when presenting negative images	Day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Attentional task	This test is performed on a computer after learning pairs of images	Day 1 and Day 2
Test of "Think/No-Think"	This test is performed on a computer after learning pairs of images	Day1 and Day2
Measurement of the electrodermal conductance	For emotional evaluation after learning pairs of images	Day 1 and Day 2
Measuremet of heart rate	For emotional evaluation after learning pairs of images	Day 1 and Day 2
Measurement of electroencephalographic activity	Subjects will be equiped with electrodes during the attentional task and " Think/No-Think " test	Day1 and Day 2

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Legrand N, Etard O, Vandevelde A, Pierre M, Viader F, Clochon P, Doidy F, Peschanski D, Eustache F, Gagnepain P. Long-term modulation of cardiac activity induced by inhibitory control over emotional memories. Sci Rep. 2020 Sep 14;10(1):15008. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-71858-2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 13, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 12, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): April 12, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 12, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 24, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 3, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 1, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Diagnostic Techniques, Cardiovascular; Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological; Heart Function Tests; Electrodiagnosis; Eye Movement Measurements; Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; Electrocardiography; Electroencephalography; Eye-Tracking Technology
• Other Study ID Numbers: C15-70

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO