Viewing Study NCT00060658



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Last Modification Date: 2024-10-26 @ 9:08 AM
Study NCT ID: NCT00060658
Status: COMPLETED
Last Update Posted: 2008-03-04
First Post: 2003-05-08

Brief Title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Calculus Problem Solving
Sponsor: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke NINDS
Organization: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center CC

Study Overview

Official Title: Functional Neuroimaging of Calculus Problem Solving
Status: COMPLETED
Status Verified Date: 2005-03
Last Known Status: None
Delayed Posting: No
If Stopped, Why?: Not Stopped
Has Expanded Access: False
If Expanded Access, NCT#: N/A
Has Expanded Access, NCT# Status: N/A
Acronym: None
Brief Summary: This study will use magnetic resonance imaging MRI to identify brain regions involved in solving algebraic math problems It will examine brain activation according to the level of difficulty and the number of steps required to solve the problem This information will help identify a possible correlation between problem-solving strategies and patterns of brain activation

Undergraduate or graduate students between 19 and 36 years of age who have completed at least 2 years of college have had at least one college course in integral calculus and who have no history of neurological disease may be eligible for this study Candidates will be screened with a medical history including psychiatric and neurological information

Participants will be asked to mentally solve a variety of integral calculus problems while undergoing MRI scanning a procedure that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of structural and chemical changes in the brain During the scan the subject lies on a table in a narrow cylinder the scanner containing a magnetic field A problem and possible solution are presented to the subject who presses a button to verify if the answer is correct At the end of the test the participant completes a follow-up questionnaire to determine the problem-solving strategies used
Detailed Description: The purpose of this protocol is to localize the neural regions and systems mediating the forms of knowledge representations hypothesized by the principal investigator to be stored in the human prefontal cortex

Utilizing experimental neuropsychological tasks during functional MRI on healthy adult volunteers we will investigate hypotheses regarding the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in mathematical cognition in a population of normal controls recruited among college and graduate students We will also attempt to determine the relationship of mathematical cognition between non-frontal neural structures such as left parietal lobe and frontal neural structures involved in mechanistic plans actions and mental sets

The data collected will consist of behavioral measures of cognitive performance and corresponding fMRI images The data that we collect in this protocol will be of value in identifying a set of neural regions and distributed networks mediating the forms of knowledge representation stored in the prefrontal cortex We will also use the data obtained in these studies to constrain theories of frontal lobe function and to provide evidence for the role of specific frontal cortex sectors in specific cognitive functions

Study Oversight

Has Oversight DMC: None
Is a FDA Regulated Drug?: None
Is a FDA Regulated Device?: None
Is an Unapproved Device?: None
Is a PPSD?: None
Is a US Export?: None
Is an FDA AA801 Violation?: None
Secondary IDs
Secondary ID Type Domain Link
03-N-0178 None None None