Validation of a Remediation Method for Memory Impairments Through Motor Encoding in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease (ADACT)

In France, over 1.5 million people suffer from mild cognitive impairment, often a precursor to Alzheimer's disease (AD), whose global prevalence could reach 153 million by 2050. With no curative treatment available, maintaining patients' autonomy at home is essential to mitigate the negative effects of institutionalization and reduce economic costs. Non-pharmacological approaches, such as cognitive training, have shown potential in stabilizing cognitive functions. Research suggests that motor networks and procedural memory remain relatively preserved in early AD, and bodily engagement during encoding enhances memory. For patients with motor impairments, motor imagery (MI) activates these networks without actual movement. Additionally, dynamic visual cues, like videos, reduce cognitive load compared to static images. This project aims to combine real action, MI, and dynamic visual supports to optimize memory. By validating 120 videos of daily activities, it will assess the impact of action on recall, evaluate MI's effectiveness for patients with mobility limitations, and confirm the superiority of videos over static images. The results could support the development of digital tools, such as serious games, to enhance patients' autonomy and address aging-related challenges.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Healhty; Alzheimer s Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Control condition; Behavioral: Motor mental imagery; Behavioral: Action execution

Detailed Description

In France, over 1.5 million people suffer from mild cognitive impairment, often a precursor to Alzheimer's disease (AD), whose global prevalence could reach 153 million by 2050. With no curative treatment available, maintaining patients' autonomy at home is essential to mitigate the negative effects of institutionalization and reduce economic costs. Non-pharmacological approaches, such as cognitive training, have shown potential in stabilizing cognitive functions. Research suggests that motor networks and procedural memory remain relatively preserved in early AD, and bodily engagement during encoding enhances memory. For patients with motor impairments, motor imagery (MI) activates these networks without actual movement. Additionally, dynamic visual cues, like videos, reduce cognitive load compared to static images. This project aims to combine real action, MI, and dynamic visual supports to optimize memory. By validating 120 videos of daily activities, it will assess the impact of action on recall, evaluate MI's effectiveness for patients with mobility limitations, and confirm the superiority of videos over static images. The results could support the development of digital tools, such as serious games, to enhance patients' autonomy and address aging-related challenges.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Céline BORD, MD; Phone Number: +33 (0)4 77 82 88 82; Email: celine.borg@chu-st-etienne.fr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Céline LECLERCQ TRAUTVETTER, CDP; Phone Number: +33 (0)4 77 82 94 27; Email: Celine.LECLERCQTRAUTVETTER@chu-stetienne.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Grenoble, France, 38700
    • CHU Grenoble
    • Principal Investigator: Mathilde SAUVEE, MD
    • Sub-Investigator: Olivier MOREAUD, MD
  • Saint-Etienne, France, 42055
    • Chu de Saint Etienne
    • Principal Investigator: Céline BORG, MD
  • Villeurbanne, France, 69100
    • HLC, Hôpital des Charpennes
    • Principal Investigator: Isabelle ROUCH, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patient group: Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease made by one of the consulting physicians-a neurologist and/or geriatrician (Dubois et al., 2014)-at the early stage, presenting with mild memory impairment of which the patient has been informed

- MMSE score of 21 or higher

Control group: individuals without a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, but meeting the other criteria listed below

• Enrollment in a social security program
• Age 60 or older
• French as a native language
• Consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Uncorrected visual or hearing impairments
• Language or motor impairments
• Delirium or psychosis.
• Medical treatment affecting vision, language, or motor skills (or participation in a study involving a drug or device that influences cognition).
• Refusal to participate.
• Inability to communicate
• Persons deprived of liberty by a judicial or administrative decision and adults subject to a legal protection measure or unable to express their consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Control condition	Behavioral: Control condition; Reading a sentence aloud and the participant is asked to freely recall, without delay and without cues, all the sentences presented in the block. The number of correctly recalled sentences is recorded.; Other Names: A
Experimental: Motor imagery intervention	Behavioral: Motor mental imagery; Following the reading of each sentence, the participant is instructed to mentally simulate performing the action described in the sentence. And the participant is asked to freely recall, without delay and without cues, all the sentences presented in the block. The number of correctly recalled sentences is recorded.; Other Names: B
Experimental: Real action	Behavioral: Action execution; After reading the sentence, the participant pantomimes the action described and The participant is asked to freely recall, without delay and without cues, all the sentences presented in the block. The number of correctly recalled sentences is recorded.; Other Names: C

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Free recall score	The free recall score corresponds to the number of sentences spontaneously retrieved by participants after learning, measuring free retrieval ability.	at 1 week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 20, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 2, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 2, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): June 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 2, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; imagery; memory remediation; motor-enriched encoding; static imagery; dynamic imagery
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Alzheimer Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: 25CH313; ANSM (Other Identifier: 2025-A00293-46)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

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

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No