Cognitive Control & the Functional Organization of the Frontal Cortex
This study is looking at how practicing multitasking affects your brain's ability to handle different tasks. Researchers want to understand how multitasking practice changes the way your brain organizes information in a specific area called the lateral prefrontal cortex, which is important for thinking and control. You would learn two separate tasks and then be randomly assigned to either practice them together (Multitask Practice Intervention) or separately (Single-task Practice Intervention). The main goal is to see if practicing multitasking improves your ability to multitask and how those improvements are linked to changes in your brain. This study is currently recruiting healthy volunteers between 18 and 35 years old. Success would mean understanding how brain changes predict better multitasking skills.
- Study design
- This is a single-center, randomized controlled trial with 60 participants. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two behavioral interventions.
- What's involved
- You would participate in multiple behavioral testing sessions over an average of 1.5 years.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- The study will measure outcomes through study completion, an average of 1.5 years.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
Cognitive Control & the Functional Organization of the Frontal Cortex
At a glance
Conditions
NCT06436209
Where you'd take part
This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.
Metcalf Research Building, Brown University & MRI Research Facility, Brown University
Providence, Rhode Islandno site contact published
Recruiting
Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.
Study leadership
- David Badre, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Brown University
Who to contact
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Effect of the practice intervention on change in overall and task-relevant neural separability in lateral prefrontal cortexthrough study completion, an average of 1.5 years
Overall neural separability (also referred to as shattering dimensionality) will be measured by employing cross-validated neural decoding of lateral PFC fMRI BOLD multi-voxel patterns, averaging decoding accuracies across all balanced dichotomies of the task inputs. Task-relevant neural separability will be measured by averaging decoding accuracies across all task-relevant variables.
- Effect of multitasking practice on behavioral multitasking costthrough study completion, an average of 1.5 years
Behavioral multitasking cost will be estimated by computing the difference in mean response time on task 2 on long SOAs and short SOAs in the Psychological Refractory Period paradigm. The effect of multitasking practice on behavioral multitasking will be estimated using linear mixed-effects regression, and is defined as the regression weight associated with the interaction effect of time point and intervention on multitasking cost.
- Contribution of overall and task-relevant neural separability in lateral prefrontal cortex to the effect of multitasking practice on behavioral multitasking costthrough study completion, an average of 1.5 years
The contribution of prefrontal neural separability change to the effect of multitasking practice on behavioral multitasking will be estimated using linear mixed-effects regression, and is defined as the regression weight associated with the interaction effect of time point, intervention and separability on multitasking cost.