Scientists scan brains to unlock secrets of human tool use
NCT ID NCT03555162
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This completed study looked at how the human brain processes tool use and the ability to make tools better over time. Researchers used fMRI scans on 70 healthy adults while they performed tasks involving tools. The goal was to identify brain areas unique to humans that may explain our advanced tool skills.
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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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70 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2018
- Finished
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Jul 2019
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
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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18 to 65 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: * To be between the ages of 18 and 65 years old * Having given an informed consent for the study * Being right-handed * Being registered with the French Social Security System Exclusion Criteria: * No signature on the consent form, including inability to read or write French. * Neurologic or psychiatric illness, known or revealed durnig the inclusion visit * Substance intake ( taking psychoactive medications or recreational drugs) on the day of the experiment * Noise intolerance * Minor person, pregnant or breastfeeding woman * Persons under curatorship or deprived of civil rights or deprived of their freedom * Unable to fill a questionnaire (severe cognitive troubles) * Subjects must not have metallic or electronic implants in the body : pacemakers or pacemaker wires, open heart surgery, artificial heart valve, brain aneurysm surgery, middle ear implant, hearing aid, braces or extensive dental work, cataract surgery or lens implant, implanted mechanical or electrical device, or artificial limb or joint o foreign metallic objects in the body (bullets, BBs, pellets, schrapnel, or metalwork fragments) or current or past employment as machinists, welders or metal workers, tattoos near the head or neck regions, permanent makeup * Claustrophobia
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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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Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EMC) -Université Lumière Lyon 2
Lyon, 69002, France
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