Michigan Neural Distinctiveness project: investigating age-related behavioural and brain changes

Michigan Neural Distinctiveness project: investigating the scope, causes, and consequences of age-related neural dedifferentiation

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Phase 3

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN17266136

Enrollment

210

Registered

2019-03-04

Start date

2016-10-14

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2021-01-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy ageing Not Applicable

Interventions

The MiND project consists of two separate studies: the main study and the drug study. In the main study, we are evaluating the scope of neural dedifferentiation (measured by functiona

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Right-handed 2. Aged 18-29 (young adults group) 3. Aged 65 and older (older adults group) 4. Native English speakers

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Criteria noted with an asterisk (*) only apply to the drug study. 1. Hearing problems or use of a hearing aid 2. Colour blindness 3. Motor control problems 4. Psychotropic medication 5. Current depression or anxiety, or occurrence of depression/anxiety within 5 years 6. Concussion with unconsciousness for 5 minutes or more 7. Pregnancy or attempting to become pregnant 8. More than 4 alcoholic drinks per week for women, more than 6 for men 9. History of drug or alcohol abuse or addiction 10. Weight greater than 250 pounds 11. MRI incompatibility (claustrophobic, foreign metallic objects, pacemaker, etc.) 12. Glaucoma* 13. Breathing problems* 14. Allergy to benzodiazepines* 15. Undergoing chemotherapy* 16. Immune system disorder* 17. Kidney disease* 18. Liver disease*

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Main study: 1. Neural distinctiveness will be determined from fMRI data at baseline during Session 2. 2. GABA levels will be determined from MRS data at baseline during Session 3. 3. Cognitive and behavioural test scores will be determined according to each test that was administered at baseline during Sessions 1 and 2. Drug study: 1. Neural distinctiveness will be determined from fMRI data both at baseline and approximately 1 hour after administering a low (0.5mg) oral dose of Lorazepam. These measures will be collected on two separate days, at least two days apart (Sessions 1 and 2).	—

Measure

Time frame

Main study: 1. Neural distinctiveness will be determined from fMRI data at baseline during Session 2. 2. GABA levels will be determined from MRS data at baseline during Session 3. 3. Cognitive and behavioural test scores will be determined according to each test that was administered at baseline during Sessions 1 and 2. Drug study: 1. Neural distinctiveness will be determined from fMRI data both at baseline and approximately 1 hour after administering a low (0.5mg) oral dose of Lorazepam. These measures will be collected on two separate days, at least two days apart (Sessions 1 and 2).

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Main study: 1. Performance on the behavioural tasks and their relation to their respective fMRI task distinctiveness (e.g., comparing motor behavioural scores to the neural distinctiveness obtained in the motor fMRI task) within a few weeks of their completion of the study.	—

Countries

United States of America

Contacts

Public ContactAbbey Hamlin

tpolk-labmanager@umich.edu+1 (0)734 763 0343

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Mar 3, 2026