Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Washington University School of Medicine

Code:

NCT07024875

Conditions

Parkinsons Disease (PD)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Study Details

Brief summary:

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by dysfunction in both subcortical structures and the cortex. The investigators recently discovered a new brain system called the Somato-Cognitive Action Network (SCAN), which could be a primary locus of dysfunction in PD. Here, the investigators will use magnetic resonance imaging techniques in PD patients to test whether SCAN is critical for PD. The investigators will determine whether SCAN is connected to PD-relevant subcortical structures, and whether PD patients exhibit altered subcortical-to-SCAN connectivity. If successful, this work will identify SCAN as a specific circuit altered in PD patients that can serve as a new target for future neuromodulatory PD therapies.

Conditions

Parkinsons Disease (PD)

Study ID

NCT07024875

Start date

Aug 1, 2025

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Jan, 2031

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jan, 2031

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 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 Criteria:

1. Neurological Disorders (other than PD)

\- Any other neurological condition
2. Significant Head Injury

  • 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)

Study Design

Enrollment

120 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Parkinson's Participants

  • 70 non-demented individuals with clinically definite PD
  • Must be 40 years of age or older
  • Both male \& female

Healthy Control

  • 50 individuals with normal neurological exams and cognition
  • No first-degree relatives with PD
  • Also, must be 40 years of age or older

Primary outcome measure

  • Cortico-subcortical connectivity to SCAN vs effectors [ Time Frame: 6 months per participant; 3-4 sessions for controls, 6-8 sessions for PD patients ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Danny Bower

314-273-4429bower@wustl.edu

Locations

East Imaging Building

Recruiting

St Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110

More Information

Sponsor

Washington University School of Medicine

Last update posted

Apr 13, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • Neurology
  • Radiology
  • FMRI
  • Precision Neuroimaging
  • Resting-State Functional Connectivity
  • Subcortical Structures
  • Functional MRI
  • Brain Imaging Data Structure
  • Gait Analysis
  • Motor Cortex Connectivity
  • Non-Demented Parkinson's
  • Openneuro Repository
  • Observational Cohort Study
  • Action Initiation
  • Freezing of Gait
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • Somato-Cognitive Action Network (SCAN)
  • Precision Functional Mapping
  • Parkinson Disease (PD)

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-18. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Washington University School of Medicine on 2026-04-13.