Recruiting

Face Perception vs. Memory Training

Sponsor:

Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Code:

NCT05800782

Conditions

Developmental Prosopagnosia

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Face Memory Training

Face Perception Training

Placebo control training

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this study is to test the effectiveness of two experimental training programs aimed at improving face processing in developmental prosopagnosia (perception training, memory training) in comparison to an active control. The investigators will use a longitudinal design and randomize developmental prosopagnosics to three parallel arms: active control, perception training and memory training.

Conditions

Developmental Prosopagnosia

Study ID

NCT05800782

Start date

Oct 15, 2023

Status verified date

Mar, 2023

Completion date

Feb 21, 2025

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Feb 1, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18-90
  • Have lifelong histories of face recognition difficulties that impact everyday life (i.e., not associated with some event such as a stroke, seizure, etc)
  • Score > 2 standard deviations below the mean on the famous faces test and Cambridge Face Memory Test. This is in line with our previous studies and others in the literature.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of a significant neurological disorder including hydrocephalus, stroke, moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), severe neuromuscular diseases, or severe hypoxia due to cardiac arrest.
  • Participants with a history of mild TBI or simple concussion will not be excluded as long as it was > 6 months ago and as long as they have not had repeated concussions (>5).
  • Participants will be excluded if they have impairments that interfere with cognitive performance, such as uncorrected hearing or vision, lack of English proficiency, musculoskeletal or other issues.
  • Additionally, participants will be excluded if they have psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, chronic intractable obsessive-compulsive disorder, or agoraphobia.
  • Participants with a diagnosis of ADHD will be included as long as their medication has been consistent for the past 6 months.
  • Participants who are currently dependent on alcohol or other substances will be excluded, as this may negatively impact cognitive performance.
  • Participants who currently are, or within the last 6 months, participating in a behavioral or pharmacological intervention will be excluded.

Study Design

Enrollment

72 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Memory Training

Participants will perform 6 weeks of face memory training (5 x 40 min sessions/week) that targets enhancing encoding to improve face recollection. As training progresses, the repetition lags (spaces between repeated foil faces) and number of faces will increase.

active comparator: Perception Training

Participants will perform 6 weeks of face perception training (5 x 40 min sessions/week) that require discriminating faces based on internal features (e.g., eyebrow-eye distance). As training progresses, the faces will become more challenging and the face sizes will vary.

placebo comparator: Active Control Training

Participants will perform 6 weeks of face perception training (5 x 40 min sessions/week) that require discriminating faces based on external facial features (e.g., hair). As training progresses, the faces will become more challenging and the face sizes will vary.

Interventions

Face Memory Training

Computer-based training using faces targeting face memory

Face Perception Training

Computer-based training using faces targeting improving face perception

Placebo control training

Computer-based training using faces not targeting improving face perception or memory

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Cambridge Face Memory Test from baseline to post-training [ Time Frame: baseline, within 2 weeks post-training (approximately 10 weeks after baseline), 12 weeks after training ends (approximately 22 weeks after baseline) ]
  • Change in Face Perception from baseline to post-training [ Time Frame: baseline, within 2 weeks post-training (approximately 10 weeks after baseline), 12 weeks after training ends (approximately 22 weeks after baseline) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Joseph DeGutis, Ph.D.

510-734-7705degutis@wjh.harvard.edu

Locations

VA Boston Healthcare System

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02130

Contacts

Joseph M DeGutis, Ph.D.

510-734-7705degutis@wjh.harvard.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Last update posted

Jan 12, 2024

Last verified

Mar, 2023

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Boston VA Research Institute, Inc. on 2024-01-12.