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The Role of the Locus Coeruleus in Age-related Distractibility

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · NCT05574634

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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 18–75 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Interventional · Not applicable
Target enrollment
200
US sites recruiting
1
Study start
April 11, 2023
Record last updated
September 14, 2026

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

What the study is about

A growing body of research has highlighted the importance of frontal regions, at both the functional and structural levels, in age-related declines in attentional and cognitive processing. However, the underlying neurobiological pathophysiological changes in the brain that contribute to these declines are still largely unclear. The objective of this proposal is to investigate neural mechanisms of age-related attentional distractibility, focusing on the neural circuit initiated from the locus coeruleus (LC). In the current proposal, the investigators will test the hypothesis that the neural disconnectivity of LC with the salience network (SN) drives failures of ignoring distractors in older adults. The investigators will examine how LC-SN connectivity is associated with selective attention performance, and how improved LC-SN connectivity through a cognitive training program may lead to improved attentional performance.

Being studied: Tablet based adaptive multimodal attention practice program; Tablet based adaptive criterion task practice program

Conditions: Aging; Alzheimer Disease

Eligibility criteria

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

Show full criteria

Inclusion

  • Healthy adult participants
  • No younger than 18 and no older than 75 yrs of age
  • Ability to provide written informed consent

Exclusion

  • History of surgery involving metal implants
  • Possible metal fragments in the eyes
  • Pacemaker
  • A history of claustrophobia
  • Braces
  • Weighing over 250 pounds
  • Pregnant or possibility of being pregnant.
  • Severe medical or psychiatric conditions (e.g., blind or deaf, head trauma)
  • Learning disabilities or developmental disabilities

Recruiting US locations

  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

    Blacksburg, VA 24061

    Site contact: Tae-Ho Lee, PhD · 540-231-6174 · taehol@vt.edu

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Tae-Ho Lee, PhD · 540-231-6174 · taehol@vt.edu
  • Benjamin Katz, PhD · 540-231-9816 · katzben@vt.edu
All neurology studies in Virginia →
The Role of the Locus Coeruleus in Age-related Distractibility (NCT05574634) | Bored Studies