Brain scans reveal how collective memory rewires personal recall
NCT ID NCT02172677
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study uses fMRI to examine how collective cultural memories—like shared knowledge of World War II—influence individual memory recall. Twenty-seven healthy adults who recently visited a war memorial will have their brain activity recorded while remembering pictures from the tour. The goal is to understand how shared schemas reorganize personal memories, without testing any treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could reveal how collective knowledge influences personal memory formation, potentially informing education or therapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage observational study with only 27 participants, so results may not apply broadly. It measures brain activity, not treatment outcomes.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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27 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Oct 2014
- Finished
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Oct 2016
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a government body.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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20 to 38 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy participants between 20 and 38 years old * Affiliated to the French national health care system * French native speaker * Participated in a tour trip at the Memorial of Caen within the last 3 months * Right-handed * At least 2 years of education after graduating from high school * Body mass \< 30kg/m2 * Signed written consent form Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnancy or intent to get pregnant * Person deprived of their liberty * Person hospitalized without consent * Minor * Protected adults or people unable to give informed consent * Person subjected to an exclusion period related to another protocol * History of neurological or psychiatric disorders or existence of traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness for more than one hour * History of cancer with the last 5 years, excluding squamous cell carcinomas * Alcoholism, antecedents of chronic alcoholism or drugs abuse * Severe psychiatric disorders (according to DSM V diagnostic criteria) or psychological troubles which could affect participant's judgment * Use of medication that may interfere with cognitive or cerebral functioning * Presence of visual or hearing troubles that may compromise participant's ability to participate in the study * MRI Contraindications
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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GIP Cyceron
Caen, 14074, France
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