Perceptual Learning Study in Sensory and Motor Function

Overseen By Hannah Block, PhD

Age: 18 - 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Indiana University

Disqualifiers: Neurological disorders, Orthopedic conditions, Pain conditions, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 3

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to explore how the brain's sensory and motor areas collaborate to maintain accurate hand movements. Researchers are testing various learning tasks, including perceptual learning (a type of sensorimotor learning), to examine how changes in perception affect movement. The goal is to eventually improve rehabilitation methods for individuals with brain injuries. Participants should be right-handed, between 18 and 45 years old, and have normal or corrected vision. As an unphased trial, this study allows participants to contribute to foundational research that could enhance rehabilitation strategies for brain injuries.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that these techniques are safe?

Research shows that participants generally find perceptual learning techniques easy to handle. Studies have found that these methods can change how the brain processes sensory information, helping people improve their skills over time. Importantly, no major reports of negative effects have been directly linked to perceptual learning, suggesting its safety for participants.

In this study, participants perform tasks to better sense the position of their fingers. Previous research has shown that these tasks can enhance how the brain connects and processes information without causing harm. This makes perceptual learning a promising and safe way to explore how the brain adapts and learns new skills. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the perceptual learning technique because it offers a novel approach to improving sensory and motor function. Unlike traditional methods that focus on repetitive physical exercises, this technique involves a reaching task where visual information is intentionally altered to change how the brain perceives finger position. This innovative method aims to retrain the brain's sensory processing, potentially leading to more effective and lasting improvements in motor skills. By directly targeting perception, it opens up new possibilities for rehabilitation that might be quicker and more efficient than current standard therapies.

What evidence suggests that this trial's treatments could be effective for sensorimotor learning?

This trial will compare perceptual learning with a control condition. Research has shown that learning to perceive movement differently can enhance movement. Studies have found that tasks aimed at altering how people view their movements can increase the accuracy of hand movements. The brain learns to detect and correct errors in sensing motion. Other research indicates that this learning involves experimenting with different movements and adapting to new sensory information. These findings suggest that learning to perceive movement in new ways could be a promising method to improve movement skills, potentially aiding rehabilitation for individuals with brain injuries. ^{2 6 7 8 9}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Hannah Block

Principal Investigator

Indiana University, Bloomington

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for right-handed individuals aged 18-45, free of COVID symptoms and fully vaccinated or with a recent negative test. Exclusions include BMI over 30, inability to perform tasks or follow instructions, IUD users without MR compatibility confirmation, claustrophobia, pregnancy, vision issues not correctable by MRI-compatible glasses at the center, neurological disorders or upper limb conditions.

Inclusion Criteria

Right-handed

I have not had COVID-19 symptoms in the last week.

Exclusion Criteria

Pregnant women or those who suspect they might be pregnant

I can follow instructions and perform tasks during the study.

Use of an intra-uterine device (IUD) whose MR compatibility has not been established

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 day

1 visit (in-person)

Familiarization

Participants undergo a familiarization session for fMRI and the behavioral task

30-40 minutes

1 visit (in-person)

Main Session

Participants perform the main session tasks including resting state scans and behavioral tasks

2 hours

1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for any immediate effects post-session

1 day

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Control
• Motor learning
• Perceptual learning

Trial Overview

The study aims to explore how sensory and motor brain areas collaborate during hand movement learning. Participants will engage in perceptual learning while their brain function is monitored. The goal is to gather insights that could enhance rehabilitation methods for patients with brain damage.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Perceptual learning Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Reaching task in which visual information about target finger position is offset to induce a change in perception of the finger.

Group II: Control Active Control 1 Intervention

Reaching task with accurate visual information.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Indiana University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,063

Recruited

1,182,000+

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Collaborator

Trials

1,403

Recruited

655,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Motor learning not only alters activity in motor areas of the brain but also leads to persistent changes in sensory networks, specifically involving the second somatosensory cortex and other related areas.

The study identified distinct brain networks associated with motor learning and perceptual changes, demonstrating reliable links between neuroplastic changes and improvements in motor skills and sensory perception.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Functionally specific changes in resting-state sensorimotor networks after motor learning. Vahdat, S., Darainy, M., Milner, TE., et al.[2022]

In a study involving 13 healthy young adults, repeated administrations of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) showed a significant learning effect, with performance improving notably after three sessions and maintaining those gains after one month.

A change of more than 8 points in the composite score of the SOT indicates a clinically meaningful improvement, suggesting that multiple baseline measures are beneficial for assessing rehabilitation progress.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Learning effects of repetitive administrations of the sensory organization test in healthy young adults. Wrisley, DM., Stephens, MJ., Mosley, S., et al.[2022]

Placebo effects can lead to real health improvements and are influenced by brain regions and neurotransmitter systems, such as opiate and dopamine pathways, highlighting their importance in clinical trials.

A patient's expectation of improvement can significantly impact treatment outcomes, sometimes rivaling the effects of active interventions, suggesting that enhancing this expectancy could be crucial for effective patient care.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Placebo effects: clinical aspects and neurobiology. Oken, BS.[2022]

A new somatosensory retraining program for stroke patients showed significant improvements in tactile and proprioceptive discrimination, with seven out of eight tactile measures and all four proprioceptive measures demonstrating positive changes after treatment.

The improvements were clinically significant, with the affected hand's discrimination abilities becoming comparable to the unaffected hand, and these benefits were maintained during follow-up assessments conducted 3 to 5 months later.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sensory loss in stroke patients: effective training of tactile and proprioceptive discrimination. Carey, LM., Matyas, TA., Oke, LE.[2022]

Motor learning can lead to significant changes in sensory perception, specifically in how individuals sense their limb position, even after just 10 minutes of training, with effects lasting up to 24 hours.

These sensory changes are directly linked to the motor learning process; passive movement without active learning does not produce similar sensory alterations, highlighting the interconnectedness of motor and sensory systems in the brain.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Somatosensory plasticity and motor learning. Ostry, DJ., Darainy, M., Mattar, AA., et al.[2022]

In a study involving 20 healthy adults, adding visual feedback to auditory cues during roll tilt perceptual training resulted in varied outcomes, with some individuals showing improved vestibular perception while others experienced increased thresholds.

The training protocol, which included 1,300 trials over 5 days, demonstrated that while visual feedback can enhance perceptual precision for some, the overall results were inconsistent, indicating a need for further research to optimize training methods.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Influence of Visual Feedback on Roll Tilt Perceptual Training. Wagner, AR., Merfeld, DM.[2023]

The study used fMRI scans to show that perceptual learning, specifically through a somatosensory discrimination task, leads to changes in the brain's frontal motor areas, indicating a direct link between sensory learning and motor skill acquisition.

By separating perceptual and motor learning, the research highlights that improvements in motor behavior are influenced by changes in sensory brain regions, suggesting that enhancing sensory skills can directly impact motor learning.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Structure of plasticity in human sensory and motor networks due to perceptual learning. Vahdat, S., Darainy, M., Ostry, DJ.[2022]

Motor skill acquisition involves both perceptual and motor learning, indicating that changes in how we perceive can directly influence our movements and vice versa.

Research on human limb movement and speech suggests that the brain's sensory and motor systems are interconnected, highlighting the importance of perceptual learning and sensory plasticity in enhancing motor learning.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sensory Plasticity in Human Motor Learning. Ostry, DJ., Gribble, PL.[2018]

The study involving 30 healthy volunteers found that performing the sensory organization test multiple times led to significant improvements in equilibrium scores, indicating a practice effect.

Clinicians and researchers should consider allowing one practice trial before recording baseline measurements, as initial tests showed notable increases in scores, particularly under specific conditions like vision removal.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Assessment of a practice effect in serial sensory organization testing scores of healthy adults. Grindstaff, TL., Christiano, KE., Broos, AM., et al.[2019]

The study demonstrated that placebo responses can be conditioned in humans, meaning that people can learn to associate a placebo with either pain relief or increased pain based on prior experiences.

By manipulating nociceptive stimulation levels during the conditioning phase, the researchers showed that both positive (pain relief) and negative (pain exacerbation) placebo effects can be induced, highlighting the potential for using learning theories to understand and harness placebo effects in clinical settings.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Conditioned placebo responses. Voudouris, NJ., Peck, CL., Coleman, G.[2019]

Perceptual training, where subjects identify the direction of passive arm movements, significantly enhances motor performance and sensorimotor adaptation, indicating that improving sensory perception is crucial for motor skill acquisition.

The benefits of perceptual learning last for at least 24 hours and are linked to increased perceptual acuity, suggesting that engaging both sensory and motor systems together can lead to better learning outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Perceptual learning in sensorimotor adaptation. Darainy, M., Vahdat, S., Ostry, DJ.[2022]

Passive multimodal training, which involves guided movement, is more effective than active multimodal training for improving spatial perception in both auditory and proprioceptive domains among 36 healthy young adults.

Combined audio-motor training significantly enhances spatial localization abilities compared to unimodal training, indicating that using multiple sensory feedback modalities is more efficient for recalibrating spatial perception.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Audio Feedback Associated With Body Movement Enhances Audio and Somatosensory Spatial Representation. Cuppone, AV., Cappagli, G., Gori, M.[2023]

In early motor skill acquisition, learning through passive movements with reinforcement is as effective as learning through active movements, showing that both methods lead to significant and lasting improvements in motor skills, even after a week.

The study highlights that the somatosensory system plays a crucial role in early motor learning, suggesting that rehabilitation strategies for patients with limited mobility should incorporate passive movements paired with reinforcement to enhance motor learning outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Somatosensory Contribution to the Initial Stages of Human Motor Learning. Bernardi, NF., Darainy, M., Ostry, DJ.[2022]

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