Epilepsy Surgery and Spatial Memory Study
This study is looking into how memory for places and scenes works in people with focal epilepsy (seizures starting in one area of the brain) and temporal lobe epilepsy (a type of focal epilepsy). We know that standard memory tests don't always capture the memory problems people with epilepsy experience, especially with remembering places. This research uses a "Virtual Tour Recognition Memory Task" where you'll watch short video clips of virtual scenes and then be tested on your memory for them. Some participants will also have "Intracranial EEG Recording with Research Electrodes" (special brain recordings during surgery) or "MRI Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Assessment" (brain scans and memory tests). The study aims to understand which parts of the brain are important for remembering scenes and how this relates to epilepsy. We're looking for people aged 18 to 55 with focal or temporal lobe epilepsy, or healthy adults, who can speak English and have an IQ of 70 or higher. The study is currently unclear on its recruitment status.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study planning to enroll 620 participants. It uses different approaches, including studying surgical patients, healthy adults, and patients undergoing brain recordings.
- What's involved
- You would participate in a "Virtual Tour Recognition Memory Task." Depending on the study aim, you might also have brain imaging (MRI) and extensive neuropsychological assessments before and after surgery, or intracranial EEG recording during hospitalization.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Testing is scheduled within eight weeks of enrollment. For some participants, repeat testing will occur at six and 12 months after surgery.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
Spatial Scene Recognition Memory in Epilepsy Surgery
At a glance
Conditions
Where it's being run
2 sites across 2 statesWho to contact
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Do you actually qualify for this trial?
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Scene familiarity discrimination accuracyFrom enrollment until the end of eight weeks, during which time testing is scheduled (Aim II), or during the hospitalization for invasive EEG studies (Aim III). Participants in Aim I can undergo repeat testing (six months, one year, etc.)
Rate of correct familiarity judgments for spatially similar test scenes versus novel scenes (recognition without identification/RWI effect), measured as the proportion of "familiar" responses to configurally matched scenes minus false alarm rate to novel scenes.
- Scene recall accuracyFrom enrollment until the end of eight weeks, during which time testing is scheduled (Aim II), or during the hospitalization for invasive EEG studies (Aim III). Participants in Aim I can undergo repeat testing (six months, one year, etc.)
Proportion of test scenes for which participants correctly recall the name or identifying details of the corresponding study scene (verified recall), separately for identical repeat scenes and configurally similar scenes.
- Lesion-symptom correlation for familiarity and recall (Aim I)Testing is scheduled within eight weeks of enrollment for all patients, with repeat testing at six and 12 months after surgery for those enrolled pre-operatively
Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VBLSM) correlating surgical lesion volumes in temporal lobe subregions (temporopolar, perirhinal, entorhinal, parahippocampal, hippocampal) with familiarity and recall behavioral scores.
- ERP amplitude and latency associated with familiarity and recall (Aim II)During EEG recording session
Amplitude and latency of event-related potential components (FN400, late positive component) in specified scalp regions (e.g., LAS, RAS, LPS, RPS) as a function of scene familiarity and recall conditions.
- Intracranial theta and gamma power and connectivity during familiarity judgments (Aim III)During intracranial EEG monitoring (typically 1-2 weeks hospital stay)
Theta (3-7 Hz) and gamma-band (30-150 Hz) event-related synchronization/desynchronization in parahippocampal, perirhinal, entorhinal, and hippocampal contacts during familiarity versus recall conditions, plus functional connectivity measures (imaginary coherence, phase-amplitude coupling).