Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Northwestern University

Code:

NCT06598150

Conditions

Stroke

Hemiparesis

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Shoulder Abduction

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to map neural activity throughout the central nervous system during a shoulder abduction task to characterize what motor pathways are being used post-stroke.

Conditions

Stroke

Hemiparesis

Study ID

NCT06598150

Start date

May 20, 2023

Status verified date

Sep, 2025

Completion date

Aug 31, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged at least 18y
  • Able to perform shoulder abduction task (confirmed during screening and initial examination)
  • Safe to undergo MRI
  • Able to follow visual instructions using MRI-compatible vision correction goggles
  • No brainstem or cerebellar lesions
  • No severe concurrent medical problems
  • Cognitive/attentional capacity to focus on a task
  • Able to communicate in English or Spanish

Additional inclusion criteria for stroke participants:

  • Have sustained only one unilateral subcortical, ischemic lesion in the territory supplied by the Middle Cerebral Artery (confirmed by clinical or radiological reports) at least one year prior to participation in this project
  • Paresis confined to one side, with moderate-to-severe motor impairment of the upper limb (Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer score between 10 and 45).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • MRI contraindications
  • Severe claustrophobia
  • Pregnant women
  • Prisoners
  • Vulnerable populations
  • Diagnosis/history of:
  • multiple sclerosis
  • brain tumor
  • brain radiation
  • traumatic brain injury
  • dementia
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Concurrent enrollment in an intervention study
  • Concurrent use of medications known to suppress central nervous system activity

Study Design

Enrollment

32 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Shoulder Abduction

Interventions

Shoulder Abduction

Individuals will be visually cued to perform short, unilateral, isometric shoulder abduction tasks. A visual display will provide real-time feedback of the shoulder abduction torque, to help the participant target a predetermined torque level.

Primary outcome measure

  • BOLD activation [ Time Frame: 3 days to 3 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Michelle Medina, BS

872-272-7687anvil@northwestern.edu

Locations

Northwestern University

Recruiting

Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611

Contacts

Michelle Medina, BS

872-272-7687anvil@northwestern.edu

Principal Investigator:

Molly Bright, DPhil

More Information

Sponsor

Northwestern University

Last update posted

Oct 1, 2025

Last verified

Sep, 2025

Keywords

  • functional magnetic resonance imaging

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Northwestern University on 2025-10-01.