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Cognitive Control Functions of the Human Thalamus

NCT06920992 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 184

Last updated 2026-04-14

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this research project is to investigate how brain lesions affect our ability to generate goal-directed behaviors - a cognitive function commonly referred to as cognitive control. To support goal-directed behaviors, the human brain must adaptively direct thoughts and actions depending on the current goals and contexts. Our principal hypothesis is that this cognitive capacity depends on a brain network architecture that can flexibly transmit, select, and inhibit information along neural pathways. Therefore, lesions and damages to critical brain network components will negatively affect behavior. To faithfully assess the structure and function of human brain networks and its disruption from brain lesions, investigators will recruit healthy adult human subjects and patients with brain lesions to participate in a multi-session study that includes cognitive behavioral tests, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a 3 Tesla (3T) scanner, and electroencephalography (EEG) studies. During all testing sessions, subjects will perform cognitive tasks that assess their ability to select, maintain, and inhibit sensory information and generate motor responses. Their eye movements may be passively recorded during testings. 3T MRI allows for fast and high-resolution imaging of brain structures, enabling us to identify lesion loci. Investigators will use EEG to measure the electrophysiology of brain activities. All behavioral, EEG, and MRI data collected will be sent to the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Working memory and set-switching tasks

A behavioral task that requires subjects to switch between stimulus- response contingencies based on a colored contextual cue. In addition, a behavioral task that requires subjects to memorize a set of visual stimuli. Subjects will then be presented with a test set and will be asked to indicate whether any stimulus therein is not part of original memorized set.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

    collaborator NIH

  • Kai Hwang

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-03-10
Primary Completion
2025-12-31
Completion
2025-12-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

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 NCT06920992 on ClinicalTrials.gov