Protocol Number: 03-N-0196

Title:

Social Knowledge Representation in the Human Prefrontal Cortex

Number:

03-N-0196

Summary:

The purpose of this study is to help researchers learn which areas of the brain are necessary to perform certain tasks, especially processing of social and emotional information, including attitudes. Study participants will undergo an MRI scan. Some MRI studies suggest that there are brain differences in people with nervous system illness when compared to those without nervous system illness.

Most MRI scans in this study will require 45-90 minutes of the participants' time. During the scan, participants will be asked to perform tasks that range from passively viewing words on a screen to making judgments regarding the items being viewed and pushing buttons in response. During the MRI, participants also may be asked to complete written tests, sit in front of a computer screen, and make decisions about items they are shown.

Study participants must be healthy, right-handed, native English speakers, and 21-65 years of age. The following people may not participate in this study: those with any history of nervous system disease, those with metal in their bodies, and women who are pregnant. Participants will be compensated for their time.

Sponsoring Institute:

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Recruitment Detail

Type: Active Accrual Of New Subjects

Gender: Male & Female

Referral Letter Required: No

Population Exclusion(s): Children

Eligibility Criteria:

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Adults aged 21-65 years.

Every effort will be made to balance for gender and race;

The healthy normal controls recruited into these studies will be determined by Section staff phone and in-person interviews to be free of psychiatric, neurological, or other medical disorders that would constrain interpretation of their performance during functional neuroimaging studies.

All subjects will be native English-speakers and right-handed, as measured by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, due to the association between language lateralization and handedness.

In addition, all subjects in Study 3 (that addresses political stereotypes) will be American and will be screened for political affiliation using several measures prior to participation in the study.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

No volunteer will be excluded on the basis of race or gender.

Individuals with a neurological or psychiatric history or medical condition that would compromise our interpretation of the fMRI results would be excluded.

Exclusion criteria are: medical contraindications to MRI procedures (e.g. pacemakers, cochlear devices, surgical clips); technical contraindications to MRI procedures (e.g. no braces); CNS active medications; and claustrophobia.

Pregnant women will also be excluded from participation due to the unknown effects of the high magnetic field on a developing fetus; to ensure compliance with this criterion, all women will undergo a pregnancy test within 24 hours prior to the scan. The results of the pregnancy test must be negative in order for the women to be scanned.

Special Instructions: Currently Not Provided

Keywords:

Attitudes

fMRI

Development

Stereotypes

Memory

Recruitment Keywords:

Healthy Volunteer

HV

Conditions:

Healthy

Investigational Drug(s):

None

Investigational Device(s):

None

Contacts:

Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office
Building 61
10 Cloister Court
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4754
Toll Free: 1-800-411-1222
TTY: 301-594-9774 (local),1-866-411-1010 (toll free)
Fax: 301-480-9793

Electronic Mail:prpl@mail.cc.nih.gov

Citations:

Cordes D, Turski PA, Sorenson JA. Compensation of susceptibility-induced signal loss in echo-planar imaging for functional applications. Magn Reson Imaging. 2000 Nov;18(9):1055-68. PMID: 11118760

Deichmann R, Josephs O, Hutton C, Corfield DR, Turner R. Compensation of susceptibility-induced BOLD sensitivity losses in echo-planar fMRI imaging. Neuroimage. 2002 Jan;15(1):120-35.

PMID: 11771980

Desmond JE, Glover GH. Estimating sample size in functional MRI (fMRI) neuroimaging studies: Statistical power analyses.

J Neurosci Methods. 2002 Aug 30;118(2):115-28. PMID: 12204303

• Questions about participating in a study, please contact the Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office, CC.
• Technical questions regarding the Clinical Center web site, please contact the Department of Networks and Applications, CC.

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