Attentional Mechanisms in SCD

Launched by VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · Aug 15, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The clinical trial titled "Attentional Mechanisms in Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD)" is designed to understand how attention works in older adults who feel they are experiencing cognitive decline, even if their actual cognitive performance is still normal. Researchers will use a special medication to temporarily affect attention and measure changes in brain activity using EEG (a test that records electrical activity in the brain). They believe that older adults with SCD rely on extra attention resources to maintain their cognitive abilities, and they want to see how this changes when those resources are disrupted.

To participate in this study, individuals must be at least 55 years old, have a good score on a cognitive assessment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and a low rating on a scale that measures dementia (Global Deterioration Scale). Participants should not smoke and should not have any conditions that would prevent them from safely taking the study medication or have any serious neurological disorders. While the trial is not yet recruiting, those who join can expect to contribute to important research that may help in understanding and treating cognitive decline in older adults.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. age ≥ 55
• • 2. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) \> 25 AND Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) rating \< 3
• • 3. Non-smokers
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. medical contraindications to the drug challenge
• • 2. primary neurological disorder (such as stroke, epilepsy, etc.)