Posterior Cingulate Cortex and Executive Control of Episodic Memory

Conditions

• Episodic Memory

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 50 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Cognitive testing — BEHAVIORAL
  Cognitive tasks testing executive and episodic based decisions, and the switching between these processes.

Study Details

This project will use intracranial recordings and stimulation of the human brain to understand the unique contributions of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) to episodic memory behavior. The goal is to test how distinct subregions of the PCC differentially contribute to memory-based decisions (e.g., have I seen this picture before?). The ability to perform invasive studies of the human brain is through routine clinical monitoring of brain activity which occurs during the neurosurgical treatment of epilepsy. However, this project only focuses on the basic science of PCC and memory behavior. Specifically, the investigators will use single-0cell and population measures of brain activity to test a new theory of PCC function which focuses on the executive processes needed to support memory retrieval and memory-based decisions. By studying the PCC, a convergence zone of memory and executive brain systems, progress can be made in elucidating how the failure to successfully leverage past experiences in daily behavior can occur as a common symptom of both neurodegenerative disease (e.g., Alzheimer's disease) and multiple psychiatric conditions (e.g., schizophrenia) implicating PCC dysfunction.

Key Dates

Start date

Jan 18, 2023

Status verified

Sep 2025

Primary completion

Mar 2, 2027

Completion

Apr 30, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment

130 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

• Experimental: Experiment 1 - episodic / executive switch
  All enrolled participants will be asked to perform experiment 1, which is a cognitive task involving the switch between performing episodic memory decisions (e.g., "did you eat fruit yesterday?") and executive decisions (e.g. "...does 5+3+8 = 17?"). Participants will perform this computer-based task while electrical brain activity is recorded from the posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. This task takes 18 minutes to complete.
• Experimental: Experiment 2 - executive decision task
  All enrolled participants will be asked to perform experiment 2, which is a cognitive task involving reward-based decisions between two options. For each decision, the two options will differ in their risk and reward (e.g., 100% chance of 10 points vs. 30% chance of 50 points). Participants will perform this computer-based task while electrical brain activity is recorded from the posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. This task takes 15 minutes to complete.
• Experimental: Experiment 3 - episodic decision task
  All enrolled participants will be asked to perform experiment 3, which is a cognitive task involving memory-based decisions between two options (pictures of people). For each decision, the two pictures will differ in memory strength and reward (e.g., familiar picture for 10 points vs. unfamiliar picture 50 points). Memory strength for each picture will be defined by how many times the picture was previously shown (e.g., 2 vs. 10 presentations) prior to performing the memory decision task. Participants will perform this computer-based task while electrical brain activity is recorded from the posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. This task takes 15 minutes to complete.

Primary Outcome Measure

Episodic/Executive behavioral task performance accuracy [ Time Frame: Outcome assessed 10 minutes after intervention ]

Central Contacts

• Ilaina Edelstein
  2156153525
  [email protected]
• Brett Foster
  2156153525
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

Find similar trials in Philadelphia, PA

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