Neuro-cognitive Bases of Joint Action

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Health Behavior; Social Interaction
• Interventions: Behavioral: Interactivity of Experimental Condition

• Registration Number: NCT03369860
• Lead Sponsor: I.R.C.C.S Ospedale Galeazzi-Sant'Ambrogio

Brief Summary

The ability to interact with conspecifics is crucial in life, yet there is no consensus on the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms beyond those associated with imitative behaviors. This project aims to define a coherent model of non-imitative (complementary) motor interactions. The investigators hypothesize that these might be substantially based on the ability to integrate one's own and a partner's action within a unitary, dual- person (dyadic), motor plan that incorporates a shared goal.

With a novel "minimally-joint" paradigm the investigators will test this hypothesis and measure with behavioral measures (i.e., reaction times) whether the supposedly automatic tendency to imitate others is modulated by the need to coordinate with a partner to achieve a shared goal.

This paradigm will be also applied during a functional MRI experiment to describe the underlying neurophysiological patterns; using dynamic causal modeling the investigators will measure how the brain regions relevant for dyadic motor control are functionally linked.

This converging experimental strategy will permit to compare competing psychological and neural models of motor interactions in healthy participants, opening new experimental avenues for studies in adult neuropsychological patients and in children with typical and atypical social development.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2017-04-01
• Study First Submitted: 2017-11-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-12-10
• Study First Posted: 2017-12-12
• Status Verified: 2018-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-08-08
• Last Update Posted: 2018-08-10
• Primary Completion: 2018-12-20
• Study Completion: 2019-12-20

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 50

Inclusion Criteria

• right handed; no contraindication to MRI

Exclusion Criteria

• contraindication to MRI

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Healthy Subjects	Interactivity of Experimental Condition	Healthy Subjects take part in the experimental manipulation

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Reaction Times	1 year	The investigators will compare Reaction Times of participants recorded during Joint Action with those recorded in Non-Joint individual condition.
BOLD activations	1 year	The investigators will study the neurofunctional activations indexed by the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) recorded during Joint Action will be compared to the Non-Joint actions

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

IRCCS Galeazzi Orthopedic Hospital; 🇮🇹 Milan, Italy