Cognitive Control & the Functional Organization of the Frontal Cortex

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Multitasking Behavior and Neural Representations Associated With Multitasking Ability, Healthy Volunteers, Executive Function

In brief

The goal of this basic experimental clinical trial is to understand the effect of multitasking practice on the structure of neural representations of tasks in the human lateral prefrontal cortex and control brain regions. The main question it aims to answer is: What changes in neural representational structure predict improvements in multitasking behavior due to multitasking practice? Healthy human participants will learn two independent tasks, each mapping a set of stimuli to motor responses based on different rules. Participants will be randomized to one of two interventions. Participants assigned to the multitask practice intervention (MPI) will practice multitasking the two tasks over multiple days. Those assigned to the single-task practice intervention (SPI) will instead practice each task separately while controlling for the total number of practice opportunities associated with each task across the interventions. Both before and after the practice, the ability of all participants to perform both tasks simultaneously will be behaviorally measured using a well-established psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm, and their neural representations will be measured using functional MRI while they perform the two tasks. Researchers will then compare improvements in multitasking behavior across the two groups, as well as changes in neural representational geometry of the tasks in the lateral prefrontal cortex and control brain regions, and test whether multitasking training is associated with specific changes in neural representations in the lateral prefrontal cortex.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT06436209
Run by: Brown University
People needed: 60
Starts: 2024-03-27
Expected to finish: 2026-07-31
Last updated by the study team: 2025-08-15

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 35. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

Normal or corrected to normal vision.

You may not qualify if…

Left handedness
Presence or history of neurological or psychiatric disorders
Usage of brain related medications
Previous head injury and time spent unconscious
Any implanted medial fragment or device in the body of the participant.
Tattoos above the neck
Injury to the eye or other body part involving a metallic object or fragment.
Welding, grinding, or cutting of metal in lifetime of participant without usage of safety protection glasses.
injury to the participant by a metallic object or foreign body (e.g., BB, bullet, shrapnel, etc.)
Pregnancy or possibility of pregnancy
Implants or devices including:
Electronic implant or device, Magnetically-activated implant or device, Cardiac pacemaker, Implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), Aneurysm clip(s), Neurostimulation system, Spinal cord stimulator, Internal electrodes or wires, Bone growth/bone fusion stimulator, Cochlear, otologic, or other ear implant, Insulin or infusion pump, Implanted drug infusion device, Any type of prosthesis (eye, penile, etc.), Heart valve prosthesis, Eyelid spring or wire, Artificial or prosthetic limb, Metallic stent, filter, or coil, Shunt (spinal or intraventricular), Vascular access port and/or catheter, Radiation seeds or implants, Swan-Ganz or triple lumen catheter, Medication patch (Nicotine,Nitroglycerine), Any metallic fragment or foreign body, Wire mesh implant, Tissue expander (e.g., breast), Surgical staples, clips, or metallic sutures Joint replacement (hip, knee, etc.) Bone/joint pin, screw, nail, wire, plate, etc. IUD or diaphragm, Dentures or partial plates, Tattoo or permanent makeup above the neck, Body piercing jewelry that can not be removed, Breathing disorder, Motion disorder or tremors, Claustrophobia, Hearing aid

Where it is running

Metcalf Research Building, Brown University & MRI Research Facility, Brown University — Providence, Rhode Island, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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