Amygdala Memory Enhancement

Part of paid clinical trials in St Louis, Missouri.

Sponsor
Washington University School of Medicine
Study ID
NCT05065450
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 75 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Intracranial Stimulation — DEVICE
    Electrodes localized to the BLA will be stimulated with either active-BLAES (0.5-3.5 mA, theta-modulated gamma burst) electrical stimulation for a 1-sec duration immediately following item image presentation or sham-BLAES (zero-amplitude). At later stages of the project, stimulation parameters and timing will be varied and triggered not at random, but by real-time closed-loop analysis of memory biomarkers in the medial temporal lobe.

Study Details

The objective is to understand how amygdala activation affects other medial temporal lobe structures to prioritize long-term memories. The project is relevant to disorders of memory and to disorders involving affect and memory, including traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Key Dates

Start date
Nov 1, 2021
Status verified
Jul 2025
Primary completion
Nov 1, 2026
Completion
Nov 1, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
90 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: Brain Stimulation
    Neurosurgical epilepsy patients that undergo placement of medial temporal electrode for seizure localizations will be recruited. All participants will view a series of images of emotionally-neutral objects on a computer screen. After each item presentation, they will randomly undergo either active-BLAES or sham-stimulation. Over subsequent days, free recall and recognition memory for these items, relative to new distractor items will be tested. Memory for items presented with and without stimulation will be compared. Brain activity recorded in the medial temporal lobe during item presentations will be used to predict subsequent memory. Such good and bad memory states (biomarkers) will be used to perform closed-loop stimulation when bad memory states are detected in order to enhance subsequent memory.

Primary Outcome Measure

Free recall memory discriminability index (proportion recalled) [ Time Frame: 5 years ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Washington University School of MedicineSt LouisMissouri63110
Joan Atencio
[email protected]
314-362-3114
Jon T Willie, MD, PhD (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

Find similar trials in St Louis, MO

By condition
EpilepsyPTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
By specialty
NeurologyBrain disordersPsychiatryMental healthBehavioral health
By research site
Washington University School of Medicine· St Louis, MO

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