Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT06072378

The Computational and Neural Mechanisms Linking Decision-making and Memory in Humans

Learning to make good decisions in the present, and accurately recalling events and information from the past, are critical aspects of human cognition that are often impaired in many psychiatric disorders. This project aims to identify the how the choices individuals make influence what, and how, people remember by combining disparate techniques in computational modeling and direct brain recordings in human subjects. The researcher developed a dual-task paradigm, probing how decisions in one task affect immediate recognition memory. To examine the neural mechanisms underlying model-free RL's influence on memory, the researcher will record local field potential (LFP) and single neuron activity in various brain regions as epilepsy patients perform the proposed task. The results of this project will identify specific neurocomputational mechanisms unifying decision-making and memory processes.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Memory, Short-Term

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Salman E Qasim

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Has seizure activity which is deemed non-responsive to standard pharmacological intervention(s), as determined by treating Neurologist and established clinical practices
  • Has elected to receive clinically indicated intracranial EEG (electrocorticography (ECoG), stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG)) and/or temporal responsive neurostimulation (RNS) for medication-refractory epilepsy outside of this research study, as determined by treating clinician(s) and per current clinical practice
  • Capacity to provide written informed consent
  • Language proficiency in English or Spanish
  • Willing and able to comply with all study-related procedures

Exclusion criteria

  • History of psychosis, such as in the context of depressive or manic episode.
  • Active suicidal ideation with intent, suicide attempt within the last six months, or other serious suicide risk
  • Inability to provide informed consent or reliably participate in study assessments, as per the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA; score < 26) or in the opinion of the evaluating neuropsychologist.
  • Individuals unwilling or unable to undergo electrode implantation procedures
  • Medical contraindications to neurosurgery or for general anesthesia, neurosurgery, or an MRI scan (required for electrode implantation)
  • Neurological disorder other than epilepsy or other significant brain pathology, if contraindicated in the opinion of implanting neurosurgeon.
  • Women who are pregnant

Treatment and study plan

Value-manipulation

Behavioral

During the decision-making task, different choices are assigned different values probabilistically.

Primary outcomes

  1. Local-field potentials changes

    Time frame: During task participation, approx. 30-45 min in the first 2 weeks of hospital stay

    Detection of local-field potentials (LFPs) in the various regions (hippocampus, amygdala, and frontal cortex). Local field potentials are the biological voltages recorded by macroelectrodes implanted in participant's subcortical regions as part of their treatment for epilepsy. LFP changes (measured as increases or decreases in voltage) as a function of participant behavior will be recorded, and in response to the task manipulation of the value of choices during the decision-making task

  2. Firing rate changes

    Time frame: During task participation, approx. 30-45 min in the first 2 weeks of hospital stay

    Single-neuron activity recorded from the hippocampus, amygdala, and frontal cortex. Single-neuron activity refers the micro-scale changes in single-neuron action potentials recorded by microelectrodes implanted in subcortical regions. Firing rate changes (measured as difference in spikes/seconds [Hz]) will be reported for neurons as a function of how behavior changes when the value of choices is altered.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Reaction time

    Time frame: During task participation, approx. 30-45 min in the first 2 weeks of hospital stay

    Reaction times involve measuring how quickly the participant makes each choice during the decision-making and memory tasks, in milliseconds. This will be recorded by logging keypresses and mouse inputs to the behavioral computers. Slow reaction times indicate increased cognitive processing.

  2. Number of hit rates for decision-making

    Time frame: During task participation, approx. 30-45 min in the first 2 weeks of hospital stay

    Choices in decision-making task involved logging the decision-making selections that participants make. This will be recorded by logging keypresses and mouse inputs (left or right) to the behavioral computers. This will be used to track whether participants decisions change when value manipulations occur.

  3. Number of hit rates for Memory performance

    Time frame: During task participation, approx. 30-45 min in the first 2 weeks of hospital stay

    Memory performance involved logging the memory-recognition selections that participants make. This will be recorded by logging keypresses and mouse inputs (old or new) to the behavioral computers. This will be used to track whether participants memory performance changes when value manipulations occur.

Study contacts

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

Salman E Qasim, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

212-824-9531

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2028
First posted
Oct 10, 2023
Registry last updated
Dec 17, 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.