Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT07226908

Human Thalamus in Propagation of Temporal Lobe Seizures and Memory Formation

The goal of the study is to examine how two key subregions of the human thalamus (ANT and PLV) are connected with other brain structures (Aim 1), how seizures involve the two thalamic subregions differently and how the map of cortico-thalamic ictal propagation matches the intrinsic connectivity maps identified in the same individuals (Aim 2), and the effect of ANT and PLV stimulations on memory formation (Aim 3).

Enrolling by Invitation

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Epilepsy Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Nervous System Diseases

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Stanford Hospital

Stanford, California, 94304, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • No medical or surgical contraindication to electrode implantation
  • Patient capable of understanding the scope of our project or signing informed consent independently

Exclusion criteria

  • Unable to provide informed consent

Treatment and study plan

Cognitive experiment

Other

Record brain activity during memory encoding

Electrical stimulation of the brain

Other

Measure accuracy and reaction time during cognitive tasks

Primary outcomes

  1. Cerebro-cerebral evoked potentials

    Time frame: During experiment up to 2 weeks

    To map thalamocortical and corticothalamic causal effective connectivity, the study team will use the well-known method of repeated single electrical pulse stimulation with intracranial EEG. Study team will measure the amplitude and timing to first peak of cerebro-cerebral evoked potentials (CCEPs).

  2. fMRI BOLD activity

    Time frame: During experiment up to 2 weeks

    To map thalamocortical and corticothalamic functional connectivity, he study team will obtain 8 runs of 6mins resting state fMRIs. Study team will measure the correlation of BOLD activity across voxels of interest.

  3. Epileptogenicity Index (EI)

    Time frame: During experiment up to 2 weeks

    The study team will identify seizure onset zones (SOZs) using the measure of Epileptogenicity Index (EI) applied to data collected through intracranial EEG, and will label the SOZs as medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) versus nonmedial TLEs.

  4. Seizure propagation

    Time frame: During experiment up to 2 weeks

    Seizure propagation to ANT and PLV will be examined through intracranial EEG data within individuals by measuring EI and the propagation latencies from SOZ to ANT and PLV recording sites will be noted.

  5. Coordinated activity across HPC and ANT

    Time frame: During experiment up to 2 weeks

    Successful memory encoding is associated with coordinated activity across hippocampus (HPC) and ANT (i.e., high frequency activity in ANT locked to the phase of hippocampal theta). Using intracranial EEG data, the study team will follow traditional analyses of changes in power in the canonical EEG bands (e.g., 3-7 Hz, theta band, 40-150 Hz, high gamma, etc.) as well as computationally derived aperiodic features of the signal [i.e., using the fitting oscillations & one over f (FOOOF) function]. Response onset latency of neural activity will determine with simultaneous recordings across HPC, ANT, and PLV how each ROI is engaged in time during a given experimental condition (i.e., encoding trials later recalled and trials not later recalled). We will also use validated methods of phase amplitude coupling (PAC) and intersite phase coherence (ISPC) to quantify cross regional relationships.

  6. Cognitive task performance

    Time frame: During experiment up to 2 weeks

    In total, each patient will be asked to encode 200 words across the 5 sessions.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Stanford University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2029
Study completion
2029
First posted
Nov 12, 2025
Registry last updated
Nov 12, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.