Emotion and Attention in Alzheimer's Disease (ATEMMA)

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The main purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of emotional attention impairments in Alzheimer's Disease, in correlation with amygdala and attention networks alterations. To this end, functional and structural neuroimaging will be used. A face expression recognition task, along with eyetracking, will be used to assess emotional attention impairments.

Official Title
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Attentional Capture by Emotional Information in Alzheimer's Disease : an fMRI Study

Conditions
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Alzheimer Disease

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Facial expression recognition task


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy volunteers : Affiliation to social security Medical examination before study participation No contraindication to MRI Informed consent signed Young adults older than 18 years and younger than 40 years Healthy old adults older than 65 years and younger than 95 years Visual acuity allowing normal perception of stimuli or corrected to normal vision Patients with Alzheimer's Disease : Affiliation to social security Medical examination before study participation No contraindication to MRI Informed consent signed Patients with Alzheimer's Disease at mild or moderate stage (National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Association criteria), diagnosed at Grenoble CMRR (Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche) Patients older than 65 years and younger than 95 years MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) > 18/30 Ability to understand study instructions and give an informed consent Visual acuity allowing normal perception of stimuli or corrected to normal vision Exclusion Criteria: Every participant having a vascular stent implanted less than 6 weeks before study Every participant having a biomedical material implanted that is considered unsafe in the list: http://www.mrisafety.com/TheList_search.asp Every acquisition procedure not respecting required conditions by the conditional usage in a participant having a biomedical material implanted that is considered conditional in the list: http://www.mrisafety.com/TheList_search.asp Every subject having a biomedical material such as a cardiac, neuronal or sensorial stimulator (cochlear implant because of demagnetization, electrode heating or artefact risk) or a ventricular drain without trained medical or paramedical support during MRI for these participants Ferromagnetic object inside the eye or the skull, close to nervous structures (displacement and complications risk such as eye or brain damage) Claustrophobia Psychiatric (e.g., bipolar disorder) or neurological pathology (e.g., epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease) other than Alzheimer's Disease Non cooperating participant Severe and uncontrolled affection: cardiac, respiratory, haematological, renal, hepatic, cancerous Participation to other research protocols with exclusion period or MRI during the past weel Drug therapy likely to modulate brain activity : neuroleptics, lithium, etc... Alcohol ingestion before study Participants concerned by articles L1125-5 to L1121-8 of CSP (Code de la Santé Publique) (pregnant or nursing women, underage or protected adult, person under administrative or judicial oversight Participant receiving more than 4500 euros for his participation to other studies involving human person during the past 12 months before this study Participant unable to be contacted in case of emergency Inability to understand study instructions or give an informed consent

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 95 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Young adults<br>Participants aged between 18 and 40 years old. | Behavioral: Facial expression recognition task<br>* We will present emotional expressions to participants. Their task will be to determine which emotion is expressed by each face. Participants' eye movements and brain activity will be recorded while they explore the face.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Healthy old adults<br>Participants aged between 65 and 95 years old. | Behavioral: Facial expression recognition task<br>* We will present emotional expressions to participants. Their task will be to determine which emotion is expressed by each face. Participants' eye movements and brain activity will be recorded while they explore the face.<br>|
| Experimental: Patients with Alzheimer's Disease<br>Participants aged between 65 and 95 years old with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. | Behavioral: Facial expression recognition task<br>* We will present emotional expressions to participants. Their task will be to determine which emotion is expressed by each face. Participants' eye movements and brain activity will be recorded while they explore the face.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Classic recognition score | Facial expression recognition score (%) | 1 hour | 
| Classic fixation time faces | Fixation time on eyes as measured with eyetracking (ms) | 1 hour | 
| Fixation time scenes | Fixation time on emotional scenes outside of MRI | 30 mn | 
| Classic fMRI activity | fMRI activity in amygdala and emotional attention networks during face exploration and resting-state | 2 hours | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Alternative recognition score | Facial expression recognition score (%) during an alternative task designed to encourage focus on the eyes | 1 hour | 
| Alternative fixation time faces | Fixation time on eyes as measured with eyetracking (ms) during this alternative task. | 1 hour | 
| Alternative fMRI activity | fMRI activity in amygdala and emotional attention networks during this alternative task | 2 hours | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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attention, emotion, eye movements, amygdala