MedPath

NeuroCognitive Bases of Tool Use

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Healthy
Registration Number
NCT04566744
Lead Sponsor
Hospices Civils de Lyon
Brief Summary

Tool use is considered to be the hallmark of complex cognitive adaptations that humans have achieved trough evolution, that provides an adaptive advantage to the human species. Even if nonhuman species do use tools too, human tool use is much more complex and sophisticated. If humans have special abilities for tool use, it has to be grounded in a specific neuroanatomical substrate. Humans and nonhumans share a similar prehension system located within the superior parietal lobe and the intraparietal sulcus. However, there is a human specificity: the supramarginal gyrus within the left inferior parietal lobe is unique to humans, and could play a central role in tool use. This project aims to study the neurocognitive bases of human tool use with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), to precise the cognitive mechanisms through which humans are able to use tools.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
320
Inclusion Criteria
  • To be between the ages of 18 and 65 years old
  • Having given an informed consent for the study
Exclusion Criteria
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding woman
  • Persons under curators or deprived of civil rights or deprived of their freedom
  • Not being registered with the French Social Security System
  • Not able to read/write the French
  • Neurologic or psychiatric illness, known or revealed during the inclusion visit
  • Substance intake ( taking psychoactive medications or recreational drugs) on the day of the experiment
  • Noise intolerance
  • Unable to fill a questionnaire (severe cognitive troubles)
  • Not willing that their personal doctor to be informed in case of a MRI anomaly.
  • Not willing to be informed in case of MRI anomaly
  • Subjects must not have metallic or electronic implants in the body : pacemakers or pacemaker wires, open heart surgery, artificial heart valve, brain aneurysm surgery, middle ear implant, hearing aid, braces or extensive dental work, cataract surgery or lens implant, implanted mechanical or electrical device, or artificial limb or joint o foreign metallic objects in the body (bullets, pellets, shrapnel, or metalwork fragments) or current or past employment as machinists, welders or metal workers, tattoos near the head or neck regions, permanent makeup
  • Not willing to complete the study
  • Appearance of a exclusion criterion during the protocol
  • Appearance of an undesirable event preventing the completion of the protocol
  • Too great head movements (>4mm for the session)
  • Detection of artifacts in the brain images collected

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent measure1 hour

The primary outcome measure will be the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent measure (BOLD) as permitted with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.This BOLD level will be collected for every voxel in the imaged brain, and at regular time intervals (TR = 3s) during the experimental session (about one hour). This is standard procedure for fMRI experiments. FMRI measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area of the brain is in use, blood flow to that region also increases. The primary form of fMRI uses the BOLD contrast in response to an experimental condition (Ogawa, Lee, Kay, \& Tank, 1990), allowing researchers to track changes in oxygen consumption on the brain and therefore brain activity. BOLD effefct is computed by assessing the different relaxation times (T1 and T2) in the brain, as T1 and T2 are different in function of regional cerebral blood flows

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

CERMEP

🇫🇷

Bron, France

CERMEP
🇫🇷Bron, France
François OSIURAK, PhD
Principal Investigator
Yves ROSSETTI, MD
Sub Investigator
Emanuelle REYNAUD, PhD
Sub Investigator
Jordan NAVARRO, PhD
Sub Investigator
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