An interventional study of Dexterous tool-use training and Dexterous manual training group without tools (Online) in Young Adults, sponsored by Federal University of Health Science of Porto Alegre. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Brazil. Open to participants aged 19 Years to 24 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-22.
Sponsored by Federal University of Health Science of Porto Alegre · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the effects of a context-specific tool-handling intervention on linguistic processing in healthy young adults. Participants will be allocated into three groups: a dexterous tool-use training group, a dexterous manual training group without tools, and a Control group.
The dexterous tool-use training group will perform a task-oriented activity involving the use of tweezers to place colored beads into a mandala within a specific functional context. The intervention requires sequential motor planning, force control, precision, and goal-directed tool use. The dexterous manual training group without tools will perform a similar bead-placement activity without tool use, involving direct hand manipulation and lower task complexity. Both intervention groups will participate in synchronous online sessions via Google Meet for 20 minutes per day, five times per week, over a two-week period.
The Control group will not receive any structured intervention and will instead be instructed to perform one activity of daily living using the non-dominant upper limb once per day during the two-week period.
Linguistic processing will be assessed through a sentence judgment task involving sentences with and without semantic violations, in which participants will classify the sentences as correct or incorrect while electroencephalographic activity (EEG) is recorded. Additionally, sleep quality and manual dexterity will also be evaluated.
The findings of this study may contribute to understanding the relationship between tool-related motor training and linguistic processing, particularly the interaction between motor and language systems in healthy young adults. Additionally, the study may provide evidence regarding neurophysiological changes associated with context-specific motor interventions.
Exclusion Criteria:
Behavioral: Dexterous tool-use training
Behavioral: Dexterous manual training group without tools (Online)
Behavioral: Control
The intervention will be supervised by a researcher through assynchronous way. Participants will perform a task-oriented activity involving the use of tweezers to place colored beads into a mandala within a functional and goal-directed context.
The intervention will be supervised by a researcher through assynchronous way. Participants will perform a bead-placement activity directly with their hands, without the use of tools.
Participants allocated to the control group will not receive structured training. They will be instructed to perform one activity of daily living using the non-dominant upper limb once per day during the two-week study period.
Assessment of Synthatic Processing Performance - Reaction time
Linguistic processing will be evaluated through a computerized sentence judgment task composed of 60 sentences containing grammatical agreement violations and control sentences. Reaction time will be measured as the time elapsed between the presentation of each sentence and the participant's button press indicating whether the sentence is grammatically correct or incorrect. Mean reaction time across trials will be reported in milliseconds (ms).
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
Assessment of Synthatic Processing Performance - Accuracy
Linguistic processing will be evaluated through a computerized sentence judgment task composed of 60 sentences containing grammatical agreement violations and control sentences. Accuracy will be assessed as the absolute number of correct responses. The absolute number of incorrect responses (errors) will also be recorded.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
N200 Event-Related Potential Mean Amplitude
Event-related potentials (ERPs) will be recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) during a computerized linguistic judgment task involving sentences with and without gender and number agreement violations. The mean amplitude of the N200 component will be measured within the predefined time window and electrodes of interest.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
P300 Event-Related Potential Mean Amplitude
Event-related potentials (ERPs) will be recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) during a computerized linguistic judgment task involving sentences with and without gender and number agreement violations. The mean amplitude of the P300 component will be measured within the predefined time window and electrodes of interest.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
N200 Event-Related Potential Peak Latency
Event-related potentials (ERPs) will be recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) during a computerized linguistic judgment task involving sentences with and without gender and number agreement violations. The peak latency of the N200 component will be measured within the predefined time window and electrodes of interest.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
P300 Event-Related Potential Peak latency
Event-related potentials (ERPs) will be recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) during a computerized linguistic judgment task involving sentences with and without gender and number agreement violations. The peaky latency of the P300 component will be measured within the predefined time window and electrodes of interest.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
Assessment of Syntactic Production - Hierarchical Embedding in Spontaneous Discourse
Syntactic production will be assessed through a spontaneous discourse task using the "Picnic Scene" from the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). Speech samples will be audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the NILC-Metrix platform. Hierarchical embedding will be quantified as an index of syntactic complexity.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
Assessment of Syntactic Production - Clauses per Sentence in Spontaneous Discourse
Syntactic production will be assessed through a spontaneous discourse task using the "Picnic Scene" from the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). Speech samples will be audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the NILC-Metrix platform. Clauses per sentence will be calculated as a measure of syntactic complexity.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
Assessment of Syntactic Production - Left-Branching Load (Frazier Index) in Spontaneous Discourse
SSyntactic production will be assessed through a spontaneous discourse task using the "Picnic Scene" from the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). Speech samples will be audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the NILC-Metrix platform. Left-branching load will be quantified using the Frazier Index.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
Manual dexterity
Manual dexterity, visuomotor coordination, and executive functioning will be assessed using the Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT). Participants will insert grooved pegs into a board as quickly as possible using both dominant and non-dominant hands. Completion time (in seconds) will be recorded for each hand.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
Assessment of Sleep Quality
Sleep quality will be assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The questionnaire evaluates subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction. Total scores range from 0 to 21, with scores above 5 indicating poor sleep quality.
Time frame: Change from PRE assessment (up to 1 week before intervention) to POST assessment (up to 1 week after intervention completion)
Plan to share: No — No plan to share individual participant data (IPD). Data will not be shared due to ethical and confidentiality considerations related to participant privacy and the terms of informed consent.
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Federal University of Health Science of Porto Alegre