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Donepezil Effect on Visual Attention and Training

NCT01738295 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2017-06-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The present proposal investigates the role of the cholinergic system (the neurotransmitter acetylcholine) in improving vision and visual attention. Vision results from a complex processing of particular stimuli of the visual field. Attention enhances and prolongs the neural representations of visual input in the visual cortex. It has recently been shown that attention in the visual cortex depends on cholinergic mechanisms. The action of acetylcholine in the visual cortex consists in enhancement of the responsiveness to thalamocortical inputs, depression of local neuronal connections or extrastriate feedback projections and induction of gamma synchronisation. The investigators hypothesize that these effects are associated with long-term changes in functional connectivity in the visual cortex, visual attention and visual learning (improvement of the visual capacities).

In the present proposal, the investigators will test whether the administration of donepezil (Aricept, 5mg), a drug that increases the level of acetylcholine in the brain, will enhances the perceptual-cognitive abilities of young adult subjects. Perceptual-cognitive performance will be assessed in a multiple object tracking (MOT) task in a 3D automatic virtual environment. MOT is a task where observers are asked to maintain attentional focus on a limited number of preselected subgroup of elements in a dynamic scene. Multifocal attentional mechanisms are necessary to process the information. The task will be tested five time at one week interval to test whether donepezil and training improved the task performance of the subject, i.e. lead to perceptual learning. This study could help establish an intervention procedure to improve visual performance of subjects that need it.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Interventions

DRUG

Donepezil administration

DRUG

Placebo administration

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Université de Montréal

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Elvire Vaucher, PhD · Université de Montréal

  • Jocelyn Faubert, PhD · Université de Montréal

  • Isabelle Legault, PhD · Université de Montréal

  • Mira Chamoun, MSc · Université de Montréal

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Max Age
35 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2013-01-31
Primary Completion
2014-08-31
Completion
2015-08-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01738295 on ClinicalTrials.gov