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The Dynamics of Representational Change Underlying Recall

Who can join

Ages 18 to 40 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome

Exclusion Criteria:

* Under the age of 18 or over the age of 40
* Does not live in the United States or is not a native speaker of English
* Diagnosis of a neurological disorders, a history of head trauma, or diagnosis of psychiatric disorder
* Imperfect and uncorrected visual acuity, color blindness, or imperfect hearing
* Magnetically or mechanically activated implants or other untested metal implants
* Claustrophobia

About the study

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine how repeated memory retrieval changes visual representations in the brain in healthy adult participants. Specifically, the study aims to determine whether repeated recall strengthens or transforms neural representations in visual cortex compared to a time-matched control condition. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1) Does repeated retrieval produce cumulative changes in visual cortical representations compared to a control condition matched for elapsed time? 2) Do these representational changes differ for simple spatial stimuli and complex natural images?

Researchers will compare neural activity patterns during repeated retrieval to those during a control retrieval condition to determine whether repeated recall leads to systematic changes in representational structure beyond those attributable to the passage of time. Participants will: 1) complete two fMRI sessions. 2) Undergo a localizer session including anatomical imaging, population receptive field (pRF) mapping, and a visual category localizer task. 3) Study cue-stimulus pairs consisting of either simple spatial patterns or natural images. 4) Recall previously studied stimuli multiple times during repeated and control retrieval conditions while undergoing fMRI scanning. Brain activity patterns during study and recall will be compared to assess how repeated retrieval influences the structure and tuning of visual representations.

What is being tested

• Visual Memory Encoding and Retrieval Task During fMRI (behavioral)

Sponsor: Brown University · Participants: 30 · Started: Feb 3, 2026

Contact the study team

• Serra E Favila, PhD · Phone: (401) 863-3486

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07442266

Locations in the U.S.

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Oct 2, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.