Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT03555162

Study of the Cerebral Bases of Tool Use and Tool Evolution

Tool use is considered to be the hallmark of complex cognitive adaptations that humans have achieved trough evolution, that provides an adaptive advantage to the human species. Even if nonhuman species do use tools too, human tool use is much more complex and sophisticated. Besides, only humans can make their tools evolve by improving them. If Man has special abilities for tool use, it has to be grounded in a specific neuroanatomical substrate. Humans and nonhumans share a similar prehension system located within the superior parietal lobe and the intraparietal sulcus. However, there is a human specificity : the surpramarginal gyrus within the left inferior parietal lobe is unique to Man, and could play a central role in tool use and tool evolution.

This project aims to study the neural correlates of human tool use with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), to precise the cognitive mechanisms through which humans are able to use tools. We also wish to study what are the cognitive abilities that allow us to make our tools evolve by improving them, and the neural correlates associated.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Healthy

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EMC) -Université Lumière Lyon 2

Lyon, 69002, France

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • To be between the ages of 18 and 65 years old
  • Having given an informed consent for the study
  • Being right-handed
  • Being registered with the French Social Security System

Exclusion criteria

  • No signature on the consent form, including inability to read or write French.
  • Neurologic or psychiatric illness, known or revealed durnig the inclusion visit
  • Substance intake ( taking psychoactive medications or recreational drugs) on the day of the experiment
  • Noise intolerance
  • Minor person, pregnant or breastfeeding woman
  • Persons under curatorship or deprived of civil rights or deprived of their freedom
  • Unable to fill a questionnaire (severe cognitive troubles)
  • Subjects must not have metallic or electronic implants in the body : pacemakers or pacemaker wires, open heart surgery, artificial heart valve, brain aneurysm surgery, middle ear implant, hearing aid, braces or extensive dental work, cataract surgery or lens implant, implanted mechanical or electrical device, or artificial limb or joint o foreign metallic objects in the body (bullets, BBs, pellets, schrapnel, or metalwork fragments) or current or past employment as machinists, welders or metal workers, tattoos near the head or neck regions, permanent makeup
  • Claustrophobia

Treatment and study plan

fMRI

Other

Imaging examination

Primary outcomes

  1. BOLD effect

    Time frame: 1 hour

    The measure will be the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent measure (BOLD) as permitted with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. This BOLD level will be collected for every voxel in the imaged brain, and at regular time intervals (TR = 3") during the experimental session (about one hour). This is standard procedure for fMRI experiments.

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area of the brain is in use, blood flow to that region also increases. The primary form of fMRI uses the BOLD contrast in response to an experimental condition, allowing researchers to track changes in oxygen comsumption on the brain, and therefore brain activity. BOLD efefct is computed by assessing the different relaxation times (T1 and T2) in the brain, as T1 and T2 are different in function of regional cerebral blood flows.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Ability to improve a tool

    Time frame: 20 minutes

    Participants will be given metal wires and asked to build a tower as high as possible. For this, they will be able to observe the previous participant to inspire themselves. The measure collected will be the height of the tower, compared to the height of the tower of the previous participant.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hospices Civils de Lyon

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Cerebral Bases of Tool Use and Tool Evolution

Acronym: TOOLBOX

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2019
Study completion
2019
First posted
Jun 13, 2018
Registry last updated
Sep 19, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.