Episodic Memory Integration and Interference
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: emotional context similarity.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Episodic Memory. Basic parameters: 18 years — 39 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
A Basic Science Study on Episodic Memory Integration and Interference in Healthy Adults
Overview
The purpose of this study is to assess how emotional memories integrate and interfere with one another over time. We will be using a multi-session experimental paradigm consisting of two encoding sessions and one retrieval session. Participants will either complete these sessions online or in-person, with the latter collecting functional magnetic resonance imaging during the two encoding sessions.
Detailed description
After being informed about the study, all participants giving written informed consent will complete three experimental sessions. On Day 1, participants will encode AB neutral word pairs (e.g., Pencil - Car) shown alongside positive, negative, or neutral images. Participants will also rate the images on valence and arousal. After encoding all stimuli, participants will immediately complete a retrieval task, during which they will be presented with the cue word (A; e.g., Pencil) and asked to recall the corresponding associate (B, e.g., Car). If incorrect, the correct word pair will be shown before the next trial. The complete list of word pairs will be shown until at least 90% of the word associates are recalled. On Day 2 (\~24 h later), participants will return to encode new AC word pairs, where one of the words is the same from the first encoding session and one is different (e.g., Pencil - Book). These AC words pairs will be encoded alongside new images that either match the valence of the first session or shift to a different valence. Again, participants will rate the valence and arousal of each image and complete a subsequent memory test until they reach 90% accuracy on all word pairs. On Day 3, participants will complete the final session of the study, during which they will be shown a cue word (e.g., Pencil) and asked to freely recall the corresponding associates from days 1 and 2 (e.g., Car and Book). Participants will also be asked to remember the day each word associate was originally shown and the valence of the paired image from that day. 100 participants will complete these sessions and their corresponding behavioral tasks online (e.g., via Prolific). An additional 50 participants will complete these sessions in-person, and functional magnetic resonance imaging will be collected during Day 1 and Day 2 to examine how the blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal is modulated by task conditions. Psychophysiological data such as respiration and heart rate may also be collected. All participants (online and fMRI) will provide individual difference metrics on mood and well-being, including the Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, NEO Personality Inventory, and Ruminative Responses Scale. On each day prior to the start of the experimental task, participants will also complete the Profile of Mood States, Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and sleep logs for the night before to index the amount and quality of sleep.
Interventions
- Other emotional context similarity
On Day 1, all participants will encode AB neutral word pairs (e.g., Pencil - Car) shown with positive, negative, or neutral images. On Day 2, all participants will encode AC neutral words pairs (e.g., Pencil - Book) alongside images of either the same or different valence. The emotional similarity of AB (Day 1) and AC (Day 2) image contexts (i.e., the independent variable) will consist of the following conditions: positive-positive, positive-negative, negative-negative, negative-positive, neutra
Primary outcome measures
- Memory for the Associated Words [Time frame: Day 3]
- fMRI Measured Neural Reactivity (Blood Oxygen-Level Dependent Signal) [Time frame: Day 2]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- Source Memory [Time frame: Day 3]
- Change in Resting-State Functional Connectivity [Time frame: Day 2]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- All participants: willing and able to follow the protocol
- All participants: fluent in English
- Online participants: online account in the crowdsourcing platform that will be used (e.g., Prolific)
Exclusion criteria
- All participants: history of a psychiatric or neurological condition, and/or current psychotropic drug use (indicated by the participant)
- fMRI participants: pregnant, metal in body (incl piercings or metallic makeup if unwilling to remove), unable to lie still for duration of scan (e.g., due to pain), Meniere's disease, claustrophobic, or other contraindication for MRI as determined my MRI technician, left-handed
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- Boston College — Chestnut Hill
Identifiers
NCT: NCT05974371 · MH134570