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Mirror Neuron Network Dysfunction as an Early Biomarker of Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) · NCT03307317

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Opens the official ClinicalTrials.gov record, with the study team’s contacts. Bored Studies doesn’t enroll anyone.

Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 10 mo–65 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Observational
Target enrollment
200
US sites recruiting
1
Study start
August 30, 2018
Record last updated
September 8, 2026

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

What the study is about

Background

People show changes in brain activity when they watch other people do actions. This may be part of early social and communication skills. Researchers want to understand the stages of normal development of motor observation and imitation in people and how it relates to social development in infants and toddlers.

Objective

To study the nature of brain activity that underlies typical brain functioning in infants, toddlers, and adults.

Eligibility

Infants ages 8 12 months

Healthy adults ages 18 65

Design

Adult participants will have one visit. They will:

Answer questions about their family, like its size and ethnicity.

Answer questions about their own behavior and do a simple motor task.

Have EEG/fNIRS. A damp elastic cap with small sensors will be placed on the head. Participants will observe stimuli, either on a video screen or of a live person. The sensors will be connected to a computer. That will record the participant s brain activity while watching pictures on a screen.

Infant participants will have 2 visits.

Their parents will answer questions about their family.

The parents will fill out forms about their child s development. These will be mailed to them before each visit.

Parents will stay with their infant while study staff does an assessment of the child s communication, motor, and thinking skills.

Infants will have EEG/fNIRS.

Infants who are at risk for developmental delays will come back for another visit when they are about 2 years old. This will repeat the infant visits but it will not include EEG/fNIRS.

Some questionnaires and assessments will be videotaped.

Conditions: Developmental Delay

Eligibility criteria

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

Show full criteria
  • INCLUSION CRITIERIA:

Healthy adults

  • Age of 18-65 at study entry
  • Healthy and good condition as determined by medical history and physical examination

Healthy Infants

  • 9 months +/- 2 weeks of age at time of consent
  • Healthy and good condition as determined by medical history and physical examination
  • Age appropriate development as determined by parent report and exam
  • Full term at birth
  • Normal weight for gestational age

At Risk Infants

  • 12 months +/- 2 weeks at the time of consent
  • Must have at least one of the following: observed developmental delay; sibling of a child with autism; premature birth; small for gestational age

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Healthy Adults

  • Uncorrected auditory impairment
  • Uncorrected visual impairment
  • Head injury with loss of consciousness
  • Inability to provide consent
  • Subject has a condition, that in the opinion of the investigator, creates an unacceptable risk for participation

Healthy and At-Risk Infants

  • A language other than English as the primary language spoken at home
  • Having a medical impairment that interferes with study participation such as having a g-tube, shunt or seizure disorder and inability to hold one s head upright
  • Having a known visual impairment
  • Having a known auditory impairment

Recruiting US locations

  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

    Bethesda, MD 20892

    Site contact: For more information at the NIH Clinical Center contact Office of Patient Recruitment (OPR) · 800-411-1222 · prpl@cc.nih.gov

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Maria J Ayoub, Ph.D. · (301) 435-9235 · maria.ayoub@nih.gov
  • Amir H Gandjbakhche, Ph.D. · (301) 435-9235 · gandjbaa@mail.nih.gov
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Mirror Neuron Network Dysfunction as an Early Biomarker of… (NCT03307317) | Bored Studies