Healthy Children, Preterm Birth
Conditions
Keywords
Learning, Executive functions, Cognitive control, Prefrontal Cortex, Typically developing children, Genotype, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Inhibition, Working Memory, Metacognition, Mindfulness, Preterm children, Developmental Psychology, Developmental cognitive neuroscience, Touch screen tablet, Adaptive training
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a daily executive training to cognitive inhibition, working memory or mindfulness as compared to an active control condition has a near- and far-transfer impact on brain and behavioral measures as collected in children aged 9-10 years, either born preterm or full-term.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALInhibition training
Inhibition training on a tactile tablet for a month (20 sessions of 15 min)
BEHAVIORALWorking memory training
Working memory training on a tactile tablet for a month (20 sessions of 15 min)
BEHAVIORALMindfulness training
Mindfulness training on a tactile tablet for a month (20 sessions of 15 min)
BEHAVIORALActive control training
Active control training on a tactile tablet for a month (20 sessions of 15 min)
GENETICSaliva collection
Collection of a saliva sample for genotyping
PROCEDUREBrain Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Structural and functional MRI
BEHAVIORALCognitive testing
Battery of cognitive and academic tasks on executive functions
Sponsors
National Research Agency, France
University Hospital, Caen
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
9 Years to 10 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
for all children: * Male or female * Aged 9-10 years at inclusion * French school curriculum (since 1st grade) * Fully informed through the dedicated booklet * Both parents gave their written consent * Normal medical, neurological and brain imaging assessment Inclusion criterion for non preterm children only: \- Full term pregnancy with no abnormal event (\>= 37 weeks of amenorrhea) Inclusion criterion for preterm children only: \- Delivery before 33 weeks of amenorrhea
Exclusion criteria
for all participants: * Age over or under 9-10 years old at inclusion * Monozygotic twins * Restrictions to a Magnetic Resonance brain imaging exam: claustrophobia, metallic elements (cardiac implants, cochlear implants, metallic elements in the brain or the eyes and being close to the nervous system, metallic prothesis, braces), restless participants. * Sudden cognitive impairments due to a stroke, head injury associated with loss of consciousness for more than one hour or encephalitis. * Chronic neurological, psychiatric, infectious or liver condition, endocrine disruption. * Past or current medical condition: cancer, diabetes, chronic lung condition, cardiac, metabolic, hematological, endocrine or immunological disorder. * Medication assumed to interfere with brain imaging measures (psychotropics, hypnotics, anxiolytics, neuroleptics, benzodiazepine, steroidal anti-inflammatory, anti-epileptics, painkillers, muscle relaxants). * Left-sided handedness * Colour blindness or non-corrected visual disturbances * Diagnosed developmental disorders * Diagnosed cerebral palsy * Diagnosed Fine motor disturbances * Parents not affiliated to the Social Security * Parents not able to join at each time of the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in brain functional BOLD activity after one month of executive training as assessed by MRI in regions subtending executive functioning. | 3 months: Pretest (t0), immediate Post-test (t0+1 month), deferred post-test (t0+3 months) | Change in brain activation will be measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during two different tasks: a Stop Signal task assessing inhibition and a Dot task assessing working memory. |
| Change in brain cortical structure after one month of executive training as assessed by anatomical MRI in regions subtending executive functioning. | 3 months: Pretest (t0), immediate Post-test (t0+1 month), deferred post-test (t0+3 months) | Change in brain cortical structure will be measured with anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (aMRI) using four different measures: 2.a. grey matter volume 2.b. cortical thickness 2.c. cortical surface area 2.d. curvature |
| Change in cognitive behavioral measures after one month of executive training as assessed by cognitive testing | 3 months: Pretest (t0), immediate Post-test (t0+1 month), deferred post-test (t0+3 months) | The cognitive testing session includes several tasks assessing executive functioning under different conditions. Will be investigated: 3.a. Response Time 3.b. Accuracy |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sulcal morphometry measured by anatomical MRI | Pretest (t0) | Assessing the impact of the early determined sulcal morphometry on behavioral and brain changes associated to a one-month executive training. |
| Genetic variations measured by Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping | Pretest (t0) | Assessing the impact of the different genotypes on behavioral and brain changes associated to a one-month executive training. |
Countries
France
Contacts
Primary ContactBernard Guillois, Professor
Backup ContactOlivier Houdé, Professor
Outcome results
None listed