Identifying the Neural Correlates of Mental Simulation in Multi-Step Planning

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Decision Making, Cognition, Mental Simulation, Problem Solving, Planning

In brief

Planning is the ability to think ahead by considering possible future actions and their consequences. This research study aims to understand how the brain supports multi-step planning by testing whether people simulate promising future move sequences while deciding what to do next. Healthy adult volunteers will learn and play a strategy game called "Four-in-a-Row" (similar to Connect Four). Participants will complete two sessions on successive days: an online behavioral training/playing session and an in-person brain-recording session at New York University. During the brain-recording session, participants will view mid-game board positions and choose the best move while the study team records brain activity (using magnetoencephalography \[MEG\] or functional MRI \[fMRI\]) and eye movements. Data from the game and eye tracking will also be used to fit computational models of planning that help interpret the neural measurements.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07293637

Run by

New York University

People needed

50

Starts

2025-07-10

Expected to finish

2026-12-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-01-08

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 64. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• N/A

You may not qualify if…

• History of neurological or psychiatric illness
• Vulnerable populations

Where it is running

• New York University — New York, New York, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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