Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Language Comprehension

Part of paid clinical trials in Birmingham, Alabama.

Sponsor
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Study ID
NCT05283265
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Language Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Sentence Type — BEHAVIORAL
    Subjects read different types of sentences (object-relative, subject -relative and control sentences) to observe how that sentence affects their intracranially recorded neural activity.
  • Direct brain stimulation — OTHER
    On some trials the investigators will apply intracranial electrical current through the electrodes implanted in the participants and observe the effect this has on their behavior (which picture they choose at the end of the trial) and the effect this has on their neural activity that the investigators record simultaneously through-out the experiment.

Study Details

First, in a recording-only self-paced reading experiment, patients with epilepsy undergoing intracranial monitoring for clinical purposes will read or listen to sentences presented to them one word at time while the investigators simultaneously record neural activity through intracranial electrodes that are implanted for clinical purposes (see subject populations). At the end of the sentence, the subjects have to indicate how they comprehended the sentence by selecting which of several pictures matches the sentence they just read. Behavioral measures that the investigators record and analyze are their response times to advance to each next word in the sentence, and which picture they chose for each sentence. These behavioral measures are compared against the neural activity simultaneously recorded as they are made. Then, in a later session, the same participants will participate in a task-related stimulation experiment. This follows the exact same design as the recording-only reading experiment, the only difference is that on some trials, at controlled moments during the sentence presentation intracranial electrical stimulation is delivered through adjacent intracranial electrode contacts. The investigators will examine the effect of this stimulation on the subjects comprehension of the sentences measured by their behavior, and on the simultaneously recorded neural activity.

Key Dates

Start date
Apr 8, 2022
Status verified
Mar 2026
Primary completion
Oct 8, 2026
Completion
Oct 8, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
153 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Intracranial patients
    All participants with epilepsy undergoing intracranial monitoring for clinical purposes will be approached to participate in an experiment that is recording-only and an experiment that involves stimulation with simultaneous recording.

Primary Outcome Measure

Behavioral Response- Picture Choice [ Time Frame: Measured immediately after the intervention ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
The University of Alabama at Birmingham HospitalBirminghamAlabama35294
Matthew Nelson, MD
[email protected]
2059346717

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By research site
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital· Birmingham, AL

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