Neuroimaging of Parkinson's Disease

This observational study is looking at how Parkinson's Disease (PD) affects a newly discovered brain system called the Somato-Cognitive Action Network (SCAN). Researchers believe that problems with SCAN might be a key part of PD. They will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to see if SCAN is connected to other brain areas important in PD and if these connections are different in people with PD. The goal is to identify SCAN as a specific area in the brain that is altered in PD patients, which could lead to new treatments. You may be able to join if you have a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease and do not have dementia, or if you are a healthy control with normal neurological exams and no family history of PD. The study aims to enroll 120 participants, but its current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design
This is an observational study, meaning no interventions are given. It plans to enroll 120 participants, including people with Parkinson's Disease and healthy controls.
What's involved
You would have 3-4 MRI sessions if you are a control participant, or 6-8 MRI sessions if you have Parkinson's Disease. These sessions will occur over 6 months.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants will be followed for 6 months, with measurements taken at that time.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT07024875

Neuroimaging of Parkinson's

Recruiting
Not specifiedAges 40+Observational
Washington University School of Medicine
~120 participants
Updated 2026-04-13 on ClinicalTrials.gov

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Cortico-subcortical connectivity to SCAN vs effectors
Measured over 6 months per participant; 3-4 sessions for controls, 6-8 sessions for PD patients
Parkinsons Disease (PD)

NCT07024875

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.

  • East Imaging Building

    St Louis, Missourino 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.

  • Evan Gordon, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Washington University School of Medicine
  • Nico Dosenbach, MD/PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Washington University School of Medicine
  • Scott Norris, MD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Washington University School of Medicine

Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.

Want this trial checked against your situation?

Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.

Check eligibility for this trial ~2 min · HIPAA-protected · delete anytime
Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Must meet specific health and cognitive criteria depending on the group. For PD participants
Clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease
Must not meet dementia criteria For Healthy Control Participants
Normal or benign neurological exam
Normal cognition
No first-degree relatives with Parkinson's Disease

Exclusion

Head injury with loss of consciousness \>5 minutes
Or any neurological sequelae 3. Psychiatric Disorders
Schizophrenia
Bipolar Disorder
Epilepsy 4. Serious Medical Conditions
End-stage organ failure
Ongoing cancer treatment 5. Cognitive Impairment
Diagnosis of dementia
MMSE score \<24 or MoCA score \<21 6. MRI contraindications
Metal implants
claustrophobia
Weight over 300 lbs (due to weight restrictions of the MRI scanner)
  • Cortico-subcortical connectivity to SCAN vs effectors6 months per participant; 3-4 sessions for controls, 6-8 sessions for PD patients

    We will collect resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans from the brains of all participants. From the fMRI scans, we will compute the functional connectivity between each of the subcortical brain structures relevant for Parkinson's disease (including substantia nigra, subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus internus, and ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus) and each subdivision of primary motor cortex (Somato-Cognitive Action network and effector-specific regions controlling the hand, foot, and face). Functional connectivity will be computed as pairwise temporal correlations of the activity timecourses in each location. We hypothesize that subcortical structures will exhibit differential functional connectivity to the Somato-Cognitive Action network than to the effector-specific regions of primary motor cortex.