Recruiting

Spatial Recognition Memory

Sponsor:

UCLA

Code:

NCT07580183

Conditions

Focal Epilepsy

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Medically Refractory Epilepsy

Memory Disorders

Epilepsy Comorbidities

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 55

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Virtual Tour Recognition Memory Task

Intracranial EEG Recording with Research Electrodes (Aim III only)

MRI Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Assessment (Aim I)

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study investigates the anatomical and physiological basis of spatial scene recognition memory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and temporal lobe lesions. Standard neuropsychological tests are insensitive to important memory deficits experienced by patients, particularly in spatial/scene memory, recollective experience, and familiarity processing. Using a validated virtual tour paradigm, the study examines how familiarity-based recognition and recall of spatial scenes relate to specific brain structures. In Aim I, a large cohort of patients with varied temporal lobe lesions at Emory University undergoes the virtual tour task with voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping to localize necessary brain regions. In Aim II, scalp event-related potentials and eye tracking in healthy participants at UC Davis characterize the temporal dynamics and lateralization of scene recognition. In Aim III, intracranial EEG recordings (including local field potentials and single-unit activity) in epilepsy surgery patients at UC Davis determine the precise network dynamics underlying spatial scene familiarity and recall. The long-term goal is to improve the prediction and prevention of cognitive morbidity from epilepsy surgery by providing a more complete model of spatial recognition memory circuits.

Conditions

Focal Epilepsy

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Medically Refractory Epilepsy

Memory Disorders

Epilepsy Comorbidities

Study ID

NCT07580183

Start date

Jul 1, 2024

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

Jun 30, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 30, 2030

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 55

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older
  • For Aims I and III: Diagnosis of focal epilepsy or temporal lobe lesion; patients undergoing evaluation for or having undergone epilepsy surgery
  • For Aim II: Healthy adult participants
  • Full-Scale IQ ≥ 70
  • English proficiency sufficient to understand and complete the task
  • For Aim I: Enrolled in or eligible for Emory University epilepsy surgery research registry
  • For Aim III: Undergoing clinically indicated stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) at UC Davis Medical Center
  • Able to provide informed consent (or for Aim I retrospective component, prior consent in Emory registry)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Full-Scale IQ < 70
  • Inability to provide informed consent
  • For Aim III: Age > 55 years
  • For Aim II: History of neurological or psychiatric disorder (as applicable per study protocol)

Study Design

Enrollment

620 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Aim I: Lesion-Symptom Mapping

Patients with temporal lobe lesions (n≈310) and healthy controls (n≈150) at Emory University. Retrospective cohort with existing surgical lesions plus prospectively enrolled new surgical patients (\~60 over 5 years).

Intervention(s): Behavioral: Virtual Tour Recognition Memory Task; Diagnostic: MRI neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment

experimental: Aim II: Scalp ERP Study

Healthy participants (n=80) recruited from UC Davis campus community. Intervention: Behavioral: Virtual Tour Recognition Memory Task (still-image version) during Scalp EEG/ERP recording and eye tracking

experimental: Aim III: Intracranial EEG

Patients with epilepsy undergoing clinically indicated SEEG (n≈80) at UC Davis Medical Center.

Behavioral Intervention: Virtual Tour Recognition Memory Task; Other Intervention: Intracranial EEG recording via clinically placed electrodes, a minority of which have research microelectrodes (FDA-approved Dixi micro-macro or Behnke-Fried Ad-Tech electrodes)

Interventions

Virtual Tour Recognition Memory Task

Participants are passively navigated through virtual tour scenes (5-second video clips) during a study phase and are asked to generate descriptive names for each scene. During the test phase, they view novel, spatially similar (same configuration, different objects), or identical scenes and rate familiarity, indicate old/new judgments, report déjà vu sensations, and attempt to recall scene names. The task consists of two study-test blocks. This is a cognitive/behavioral assessment, not a therapeutic intervention.

Intracranial EEG Recording with Research Electrodes (Aim III only)

Patients undergoing clinically indicated stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) for seizure localization have electrodes implanted at locations determined solely by clinical need. In a subset of patients, FDA-approved research electrodes (Dixi micro-macro electrodes or Behnke-Fried As-Tech electrodes with tetrode components) substitute standard clinical electrodes at the same clinically determined locations. These electrodes have the same geometry as clinical electrodes and are FDA-approved. The tetrode component enables single-neuron recording for research purposes and adds no additional risk. Electrode placement is not altered by study participation. Local field potentials (LFP) and, where available, single-unit data are recorded during the virtual tour task and resting state.

MRI Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Assessment (Aim I)

Pre- and post-surgical structural MRI (T1-weighted, diffusion-weighted imaging, resting-state fMRI) obtained as part of the clinical epilepsy surgery evaluation at Emory University. Extensive neuropsychological battery administered pre- and post-operatively (6 months and 1 year) including Wechsler memory scales, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, confrontation naming, and additional measures.

Primary outcome measure

  • Scene familiarity discrimination accuracy [ Time Frame: From 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.) ]
  • Scene recall accuracy [ Time Frame: From 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.) ]
  • Lesion-symptom correlation for familiarity and recall (Aim I) [ Time Frame: 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 ]
  • ERP amplitude and latency associated with familiarity and recall (Aim II) [ Time Frame: During EEG recording session ]
  • Intracranial theta and gamma power and connectivity during familiarity judgments (Aim III) [ Time Frame: During intracranial EEG monitoring (typically 1-2 weeks hospital stay) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Nigel P Pedersen, MD

916-734-3251nppedersen@health.ucdavis.edu

Locations

UC Davis Medical Center

Recruiting

Sacramento, California, United States, 95817

Contacts

Nigel P Pedersen, MD

916-734-3251nppedersen@health.ucdavis.edu

Emory University Hospital

Recruiting

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322

Contacts

Daniel L Drane, PhD

404-727-2844ddrane@emory.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of California, Davis

Last update posted

May 12, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

  • spatial memory
  • recognition memory
  • familiarity
  • recollection
  • neural circuits of memory
  • phenomenology of memory
  • scene memory
  • virtual tour
  • epilepsy surgery
  • SEEG
  • stereo-electroencephalography
  • lesion-symptom mapping
  • network-symptom mapping
  • cognitive electrophysiology
  • event-related potentials
  • intracranial EEG
  • iEEG
  • parahippocampal gyrus
  • perirhinal cortex
  • hippocampus
  • tetrodes
  • deja vu
  • neuropsychology
  • consciousness

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of California, Davis on 2026-05-12.