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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01686516

Synaptic Plasticity Imaging With Diffusion MRI

Diffusion MRI employed in functional imaging has the potential to probe directly brain activation instead of blood changes like the BOLD technique. The researchers investigated these rapid synaptic plasticity changes with visual activation followed by BOLD and diffusion functional MRI as well as anatomical (venography, tractography by diffusion) features in young and aged subjects.

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Key information

Conditions

Brain Aging

Age range

20 year–80 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Inserm U 825

Toulouse, France, 31059

About this study

This study is devoted to explore brain plasticity by 2 modes of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) of the brain :

  • functional imaging using DWI and BOLD
  • anatomical studies using DWI Theses DWI exams use high b-factor to sample tissue microstructure/metabolism. To correlated these DWI changes with anatomical ones, we used anatomical imaging like T1 maps and susceptibility-based maps.

First, the relatively new technique of diffusion functional magnetic Resonance (DfMRI) was explored to obtain activation of brain following visual stimulations. These modality was compared to BOLD and anatomical venography.

The DWI exams for anatomical (tractography) used both high angular resolution directional diffusion encoding (18 directions) and high b-values (as high as b=12 000 s/mm²) to obtain precise knowledge about tissue microstructure.

Study was approved by the National French Institute of Health and by french organism for biomedical studies (AFFSAPS). Study involve 35 subjects, with 5 additional subjects for eventual rejection because of ineligibility criterion, and compare 15 young (20-30 years) to aged healthy people (60-80 years).

Then, anatomical studies are devoted to obtain microstructures information about brain areas that are changed with age, and to validate fully the feasibility of the DfMRI approach.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • ages 20-30 years
  • 60-80 years

Exclusion criteria

  • psychological or organic trouble

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Assessment of synaptic plasticity using diffusion decline MRI

    Time frame: To a maximum of 30 days

    Diffusion decline imaging involves acquiring diffusion-weighted images (S image) by incrementing the b-factor (or diffusion weighting factor) over the course of several measurements; One measurement is taken for b = 0 s/mm² and provides image S0.

    This signal is obtained for each pixel of the S image, divided by the S0 image, producing an S/S0 image weighted by diffusion.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France

Other Gov

Registry information

Official study title

Methodological Study of Synaptic Plasticity Imaging With Diffusion MRI

Important dates

Study start
2011
Primary completion
2012
Study completion
2012
First posted
Sep 18, 2012
Registry last updated
Jul 22, 2026

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.

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