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NCT Number: NCT06967935

Sleep and Rehearsal-Driven Memory in Epilepsy

Memory consolidation transforms unstable memory traces into lasting representations, a process enhanced by both sleep and rehearsal during learning. Rehearsal is thought to accelerate consolidation by inducing memory reactivations that resemble those occurring during sleep. However, the respective mechanisms of sleep- and rehearsal-induced consolidation-and their potential interactions-remain poorly understood, especially in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, where rehearsal might help compensate for memory deficits linked to hippocampal dysfunction, and where sleep may exacerbate epileptic activity. The CORESOM-EPI study aims to compare the effects of rehearsal and sleep on memory consolidation in patients undergoing video-EEG monitoring. Participants will learn "object-place" associations under two conditions (single versus repeated encoding), with memory tested immediately and again after a 12-hour delay. This delay will either include a full day awake or a night of sleep, allowing direct comparison of sleep- and rehearsal-related consolidation effects. Each participant will perform the task twice, with "wake" and "sleep" condition, in a balanced order. As a preliminary phase of the CRIMES study (ANR-DFG 2024), CORESOM-EPI will help assess how sleep and rehearsal influence memory consolidation in epilepsy. It will also serve to adapt the behavioral task for clinical use, paving the way for a future intracranial EEG investigations that will explore the neural networks involved and their modulation by epileptic activity.

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Key information

Conditions

Epilepsy Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Memory Consolidation Nervous System Diseases

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Service de neurologie fonctionnelle et d'épileptologie, Hôpital neurologique Pierre Wertheimer

Bron, 69500, France

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Laure PETER-DEREX, Professor

CONTACT

[email protected]

+334 72 07 17 69

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Patient with epilepsy (any type of epilepsy)
  • Hospitalized for video-EEG recording lasting at least 4 days
  • Aged 18-65 years

Exclusion criteria

  • Major cognitive impairment other than memory deficit
  • Refusal to participate
  • Pregnant women, women in labor or nursing mothers
  • Persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision
  • Persons under psychiatric care
  • Persons admitted to a health or social institution for purposes other than research
  • Adults under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship)

Treatment and study plan

Cognitive memory task on a computer

Other

Encoding: (1) Participants will learn 60 associations between pairs of items (cue and target) that are presented sequentially at unique locations on a screen, in a given context. 30 pairs are presented once, and 30 pairs are presented repeatedly (4 times).

(2) After learning, the first recall phase begins after a short delay of 30 minutes: 50% of the pairs are tested in a similar way, this time with an assessment of contextual memory.

(3) The remaining 50% of pairs are tested after a 12-hour delay, involving either a day awake (condition 1) or a night asleep (condition 2).

Eye Tracking

Other

Eye-tracking will be carried out during the task to ensure that participants are focused on the task (quantification of the number and duration of eye fixations in the area of interest corresponding to the target presentation)

Questionnaires on task-related fatigue

Other

Questionnaire on task-related fatigue (Likert-scale) will be completed by participants between blocks of items during the task

Questionnaire on task difficulty

Other

Questionnaires on task difficulty (Likert-scale) will be completed by participants at the end of the task

Karolinska scale

Other

Participants' state of sleepiness will be assessed at the beginning of each stage (encoding, immediate recall, delayed recall) using the Karolinska sleepiness scale

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in the percentage of object categories recalled (vs. not recalled) between immediate (30 min after learning) and delayed (12h after learning) recall for rehearsed versus non-rehearsed items.

    Time frame: Day 2

    The impact of rehearsal on object category recognition in an object-place learning paradigm is assessed.

    For the primary outcome, data from the 2 conditions ("wake" and "sleep" during the 12h period between immediate and delayed recall) will be pooled. Each participant will take part in the wake and sleep condition over 4 days (2 conditions separated by at least 24h), in a balanced order between participants.

  2. Change in the percentage of object categories recalled (vs. not recalled) between immediate (30 min after learning) and delayed (12h after learning) recall for rehearsed versus non-rehearsed items.

    Time frame: Day 2 + 12 hours

    The impact of rehearsal on object category recognition in an object-place learning paradigm is assessed.

    For the primary outcome, data from the 2 conditions ("wake" and "sleep" during the 12h period between immediate and delayed recall) will be pooled. Each participant will take part in the wake and sleep condition over 4 days (2 conditions separated by at least 24h), in a balanced order between participants.

  3. Change in the percentage of object categories recalled (vs. not recalled) between immediate (30 min after learning) and delayed (12h after learning) recall for rehearsed versus non-rehearsed items.

    Time frame: Day 2 + 36 hours

    The impact of rehearsal on object category recognition in an object-place learning paradigm is assessed.

    For the primary outcome, data from the 2 conditions ("wake" and "sleep" during the 12h period between immediate and delayed recall) will be pooled. Each participant will take part in the wake and sleep condition over 4 days (2 conditions separated by at least 24h), in a balanced order between participants.

  4. Change in the percentage of object categories recalled (vs. not recalled) between immediate (30 min after learning) and delayed (12h after learning) recall for rehearsed versus non-rehearsed items.

    Time frame: Day 2 + 48 hours

    The impact of rehearsal on object category recognition in an object-place learning paradigm is assessed.

    For the primary outcome, data from the 2 conditions ("wake" and "sleep" during the 12h period between immediate and delayed recall) will be pooled. Each participant will take part in the wake and sleep condition over 4 days (2 conditions separated by at least 24h), in a balanced order between participants.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Laure PETER-DEREX, Professor

CONTACT

[email protected]

+334 72 07 17 69

Sylvain Rheims, Professor

CONTACT

[email protected]

+334 72 45 79 00

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hospices Civils de Lyon

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Rehearsal-Induced Memory Consolidation and Its Modulation by Sleep in People With Epilepsy

Acronym: CORESOM-EPI

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
May 13, 2025
Registry last updated
Jun 23, 2026

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.

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