Capturing Autobiographical Memory Formation in Real World Spaces Using Multimodal Recordings

NCT06883981 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 001839671R61MH135109-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this observational study is to develop novel methods for integrating multimodal data streams with invasive neural recordings to study autobiographical memory (AM) formation in individuals with implanted neurostimulation devices (e.g., NeuroPace RNS) for epilepsy treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are: How does the brain encode and retrieve real-world autobiographical memories? Can multimodal data integration enhance our understanding of memory-related cognitive and neural mechanisms? Participants will:

• Use a smartphone-based recording application (CAPTURE app) to collect real-world data.
• Have their wearable sensor data (e.g., audio-visual, accelerometry, GPS, autonomic physiology, eye tracking) synchronized with invasive neural recordings. Researchers will analyze these multimodal data streams to develop new analytic approaches for studying memory formation in naturalistic settings, with the long-term goal of informing neuromodulation-based memory enhancement treatments for individuals with memory disorders.

Conditions

Epilepsy; Autobiographical Memory

Keywords

Autobiographical memory; Memory; IEEG; Epilepsy; Real-World Navigation; Spatial Memory; Hippocampus; Medial Temporal Cortex; Multi-Modal Recording

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Intracranial EEG power in Theta Band

  iEEG power in the theta band between 4-8 Hz, will be assessed to identify the real-world experience features that contribute to changes in this important neural power band for memory encoding.

  4 days

• Intracranial EEG power in Gamma Band

  iEEG power in the gamma band between 30-100 Hz, will be assessed to identify the real-world experience features that contribute to changes in this important neural power band for memory encoding.

  4 days

• Intracranial EEG normalized aperiodic exponent

  This feature of intracranial EEG will be assessed as a broadband state-level change in brain activity during the participant's real-world experiences.

  4 days

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Eye fixation duration to remembered experiences

  4 days

Other Outcomes (1)

• Questionnaire on Attitudes Regarding Neuroethics

  Day 1

Study Arms (2)

Neuroethical Assessment Group

NO INTERVENTION

Patients with epilepsy who have Neuropace RNS implants who will be surveyed about the neuroethics of real-world multi-modal recordings to assess their attitude toward research data sharing and confidentiality.

Multi-Modal Recording System Assessment Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients with epilepsy who have Neuropace RNS implants, and patients without epilepsy/RNS implants, who will participate in real-world navigation and autobiographical memory tasks in order to evaluate the reliability and signal quality of the multi-modal recording system.

Behavioral: Free and Cued Recall Memory. Temporal Sequence and Spatial Memory

Interventions

Free and Cued Recall Memory. Temporal Sequence and Spatial Memory BEHAVIORAL

Memory for real-world episodic experiences will be tested in the laboratory first with free recall (spoken narration of their recollections from each environment) and then with cued recall, in which participants will be cued with an event image from the CAPTURE app, a map location, or a relative time and asked to recall the other two non-cued pieces of episodic information (event, place, or time). Because we will know the 'ground truth', the cued recall test will allow us to measure how accurately the participant is able to remember key details of each episode. We will also assess temporal order memory by asking participants to arrange 1st person images in the order in which they occurred, and we will assess spatial memory by asking them to place each image on a schematic map of the venue.

Multi-Modal Recording System Assessment Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years of age or older
• healthy to minor cognitive impairment

You may not qualify if:

• younger than 18 years of age
• more than minor cognitive impairment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Utah: lead
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): collaborator
• University of California, San Diego: collaborator
• University of California, Los Angeles: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Clinical Neurosciences Center, University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah, 84132, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Epilepsy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Alireza Kazemi, PhD

CONTACT

5303040970; alireza.kazemi@utah.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 10, 2025
• First Posted: March 19, 2025
• Study Start: January 30, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028
• Last Updated: April 8, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Locations

US (1)