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Hippocampal and Frontoparietal Development and Inference

University of Texas at Austin · with National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Nicole Varga · NCT07199907

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Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 13–25 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Interventional · Not applicable
Target enrollment
142
US sites recruiting
1
Study start
February 20, 2025
Record last updated
September 30, 2025

Status re-checked against ClinicalTrials.gov within the last 12 hours.

What the study is about

The goal of this clinical trial is to test if an intervention used to manipulate memory and inference can improve our understanding of how brain development supports these abilities in healthy adolescent and adult volunteers. The main questions it aims to answer are: (1) Do hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex shift from forming simple memories for singular experiences to more complex memories that link numerous experiences together?; (2) Does an improved ability to retrieve prior memories in parietal cortex during new learning have consequences for how those memories are organized at different ages?; and (3) Does the emerging memory control supported by ventromedial prefrontal cortex development facilitate the formation of optimally-organized memory representations? Adolescent participants (13-18 years) will perform two experimental tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning at three timepoints (T1-T3), spaced 1.5 years apart. Researchers will compare behavioral and neuroimaging data to a separate group of adults (19-25 years) who will perform the task at a single timepoint (T1). The tasks and comparison groups will allow us to isolate the neural processes that support memory and inference behavior, and how these processes change with age.

Being studied: Associative Inference; Probabilistic Inference

Conditions: Healthy

Eligibility criteria

Copied from the official record. The study team makes the final decision at screening.

Show full criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Right-handed
  • Have normal or corrected to normal vision
  • Have normal hearing
  • Do not have contraindications for MRI
  • Have no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders at initial intake
  • Are of normal intelligence
  • Native or fluent English speaker

Exclusion Criteria

  • A major medical illness or a neurological disorder, or neurological abnormality including significant head trauma (loss of consciousness > 5 min).
  • Meeting criteria for any psychiatric disorder or any prior psychiatric hospitalizations
  • Intelligence scores more than 1 standard deviation below the mean on the WASI-II
  • History of special education placement
  • Non-native English speaker
  • Prior use of psychotropic medication, except antidepressants, for longer than 1 month
  • History of moderate to severe cannabis use disorder, via self-report
  • MRI exclusions: Claustrophobia; tattoos above the shoulders; permanent eyeliner; permanent retainer or spacer; artificial eyebrows; cardiac pacemaker; metal fragments in eye, skin, or body, including shrapnel; heart valve replacement; brain clips; venous umbrella; being a sheet-metal worker or welder; lifetime history of aneurysm surgery; intracranial bypass, renal, or aortic clips; prosthetic devices such as middle ear, eye, joint, or penile implants; joint replacements; non-removable hearing aid, neurostimulator, or insulin pump; shunts/stents; metal mesh/coil implants; metal plate/pin/screws/wires; or any other metal implants; or suspected pregnancy.

Recruiting US locations

  • The University of Texas at Austin

    Austin, TX 78712

    Site contact: Alison R Preston, PhD · 512-475-7255 · apreston@utexas.edu

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Alison R Preston, PhD · 512-475-7255 · apreston@utexas.edu
  • Nicole L Varga, Ph.D. · 856-304-6771 · nvarga@austin.utexas.edu
All healthy volunteers studies in Texas →
Hippocampal and Frontoparietal Development and Inference (NCT07199907) | Bored Studies