Representation of Spatiotemporal Information in Human Episodic Memory and Navigation

NCT07423923 | Enrolling By Invitation Early Phase 1 DMC FDA Drug

• 1 other identifier: 2R01NS076856-11
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 15
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Neural diseases such as stroke can have distinct effects on the ability to navigate and orient compared to remembering daily events like when one last took medicine. This proposal seeks test rival hypotheses regarding the neural mechanisms underlying commonalities and differences in navigation and event-related memory, particularly as they relate to pre-existing knowledge. Such mechanistic insight could help inspire therapies that could be used to bolster intact brain function in a compensatory manner following strokes or other neural insults.

Conditions

Scopolamine or Placebo; Schema to Organize Memory or no Schema

Keywords

scopolamine, memory training, hippocampus, brain oscillation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• behavioral: navigational accuracy

  accuracy (path error) of routes taken in virtual environment

  from enrollment to end of study (3 days)

• intracranial EEG low-frequency oscillatory power

  approximate amplitude of signal recorded from the hippocampus of patients undergoing seizure monitoring

  from enrollment to the end of study (3 days)

• memory accuracy (as part of memory training component involving healthy controls)

  how many words remembered

  from enrollment to the end of study (3 weeks)

• Route replay time

  time (in seconds) it takes to remember a route that will or has been taken

  from enrollment to the end of study (3 days)

Study Arms (1)

Patients undergoing surgical monitoring to plan resections for epilepsy

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients will have electrodes implanted in their hippocampus for surgical monitoring allowing for direct recordings. Patients will receive scopolamine on one day and placebo on another.

Drug: Scopolamine

Interventions

Scopolamine DRUG

effects of scopolamine on brain oscillations, navigation, and memory

Patients undergoing surgical monitoring to plan resections for epilepsy

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Able to provide verbal and written informed consent
• Fluent English speaker
• At least 8th grade education
• Age between 18-40 years.
• Normal or corrected-to-normal eyesight

You may not qualify if:

• Magnetic resonance imaging contraindications (e.g., metallic objects in body, claustrophobia)
• Current use of anticonvulsant, neuroleptic, sedatives, or other medications known to affect cognition
• Neurologic conditions affecting the brain (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness)
• Psychiatric conditions (e.g., major depression, schizophrenia)
• \. Adult patients with medically refractory epilepsy who are scheduled to undergo or have previously undergone placement of sub-dural electrodes or depth electrodes or stereo-electroencephalography to localize the site of seizure onset.
• Patients with gross structural abnormalities (hematoma, tumors, large vascular malformations, diffuse malformations of cortical development) that may impact critical perceptual or memory areas needed to perform tasks.
• Patients who are unable to participate in memory testing due to impaired cognition or mental retardation. All patients routinely undergo a detailed neuropsychological evaluation, and the neuropsychological report will be used to make this assessment.
• Patients/volunteers with cardiac pacemakers, intracranial aneurysm clips, or other potentially mobile implanted metallic devices cannot be included in this study, because of possible effects of high power magnetic fields on them.
• Patients with claustrophobia who cannot undergo an MRI scan without sedation.
• Pregnant women
• In good general health, aside from a history of epilepsy, as ascertained by medical history, physical examination (PE), clinical laboratory evaluations, and ECG.
• Body mass index between 18-35 kg/m2.
• History of renal insufficiency.
• Patients with liver failure.
• Patients with autoimmune neuropathy.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Arizona: lead
• University of Texas: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

University of Arizona Psychology Department and Evelyn McKnight Brain Institute

Tucson, Arizona, 85721, United States

Location

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center / O'Donnell Brain Institute

Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Seger SE, Kriegel JLS, Lega BC, Ekstrom AD. Memory-related processing is the primary driver of human hippocampal theta oscillations. Neuron. 2023 Oct 4;111(19):3119-3130.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.06.015. Epub 2023 Jul 18.

  PMID: 37467749 BACKGROUND

• Zheng L, Boogaart Z, McAvan A, Garren J, Doner SG, Wilkes BJ, Groves W, Yuksel E, Cherep L, Ekstrom A, Weisberg SM. Newly trained navigation and verbal memory skills in humans elicit changes in task-related networks but not brain structure. Elife. 2025 Oct 28;14:RP106873. doi: 10.7554/eLife.106873.

  PMID: 41150161 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Scopolamine

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Scopolamine Derivatives; Tropanes; Azabicyclo Compounds; Aza Compounds; Organic Chemicals; Belladonna Alkaloids; Solanaceous Alkaloids; Alkaloids; Heterocyclic Compounds; Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic; Heterocyclic Compounds, Bridged-Ring

Study Officials

• Arne Ekstrom, Ph.D.

  University of Arizona McKnight Brain Institute

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Brad Lega, M.D.

  University of Texas, Southwestern Medican Center

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: early phase 1
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 6, 2026
• First Posted: February 20, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 29, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 29, 2030
• Last Updated: April 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Locations

US (2)