Representational Approach to Hippocampal Functions : a fMRI Study

NCT ID: NCT04562974

Last Updated: 2025-12-22

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 60 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-09-03
• Study Completion Date: 2022-03-02

Brief Summary

Although traditional neuropsychological models associate medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions to memory, and the hippocampus to episodic memory, there is growing evidence supporting an alternative view. The representational view of the MTL proposes that such regions depends on the representations processed rather than the cognitive processes. The aim of this project is to characterise the role played by MTL areas, and particularly the hippocampus, in mnemonic and non-mnemonic cognition. Hypotheses stemming from the representational view will thus be tested, using functional MRI among young healthy participants.

Detailed Description

Traditional neuropsychological models associate the medial temporal lobe (MTL) with episodic memory. Further, the hippocampus would be responsible for recollection, or the rich and contextualised retrieval of a memory; whereas the perirhinal cortex (PRC) would process familiarity, or the feeling that a stimulus has been encountered before, without remembering where or when it happened. However, there is growing evidence questioning this view, and supporting an alternative proposal. The representational view of the MTL proposes that such regions would not be organised according to cognitive processes, but rather according to the representations (or the mnemonic content, represented by a pattern of neuronal spikes. A 2018-fMRI study demonstrated that the engagement of the hippocampus in recollection depends on the presence of a spatial scene in the memory that is retrieved, and not on the reconstructive nature of the retrieval. However, this demonstration is incomplete, as the only process that was investigated is recollection. The current project aims to extend such results to memory processes such as familiarity, and even to non-mnemonic processes such as visual discrimination. A fMRI study will thus be conducted, where 30 healthy participants will first perform a visual-discrimination task on scenes and objects, before taking a recognition task, in which images will either be presented in full or in the form of circular cues only. Multivariate-Pattern Analyses (MVPA) will complete traditional fMRI analyses, in order to determine whether activity in the MTL can be categorised on the basis of representations through a machine-learning classifier.

Conditions

Memory, Episodic; Form Perception

Keywords

memory; neuropsychology; hippocampus; perception; neuroimaging

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

One group of 30 healthy subjects

Perception and memory tasks inside a MRI-scanner for all participants

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

MRI-scanner

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Only one group of 30 participants is constituted. All participants will perform perception and memory tasks inside a MRI-scanner. Functional activity (BOLD signal) will be registered, as well as anatomical and behavioural data.

Interventions

MRI-scanner

Only one group of 30 participants is constituted. All participants will perform perception and memory tasks inside a MRI-scanner. Functional activity (BOLD signal) will be registered, as well as anatomical and behavioural data.

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Affiliation to French Healthcare system
• No contraindication to MRI examination
• Age between 18 and 35 years-old
• Visual acuity permitting normal perception of stimuli or corrected sight

Exclusion Criteria

• Existence of a pathology incompatible with the protocol : Heart, respiratory, haematological, caner, neurological disorder...
• Brain-modulating medical treatment
• Alcohol intake before examination
• Uncorrected visual disorder
• Cognitive deficit (criterion MMSE < 27)
• People protected by articles L1121-5 to L1121-8 of the CSP (pregnant women, under-18 subjects, people under judiciary or administrative surveillance)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University Grenoble Alps

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Université Savoie Mont Blanc

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University Hospital, Grenoble

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Olivier Moreaud

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital, Grenoble

Locations

Chu Grenoble Alpes

Grenoble, , France

Countries

France

References

Gardette J, Cousin E, Bourgin J, Torlay L, Pichat C, Moreaud O, Hot P. Hippocampal activity during memory and visual perception: The role of representational content. Cortex. 2022 Dec;157:14-29. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.09.004. Epub 2022 Sep 28.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 36272329 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

2020-A01592-37

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2020-A01592-37

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id