Understanding Prefrontal and Medial Temporal Neuronal Responses to Algorithmic Cognitive Variables in Epilepsy Patients
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT05283811. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
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Official title
Mapping Algorithmic State Space in the Human Brain
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Humans have a remarkable ability to flexibly interact with the environment. A compelling demonstration of this cognitive flexibility is human's ability to respond correctly to novel contextual situations on the first attempt, without prior rehearsal. The investigators refer to this ability as 'ad hoc self-programming': 'ad hoc' because these new behavioral repertoires are cobbled together on the fly, based on immediate demand, and then discarded when no longer necessary; 'self-programming' because the brain has to configure itself appropriately based on task demands and some combination of prior experience and/or instruction. The overall goal of our research effort is to understand the neurophysiological and computational basis for ad hoc self-programmed behavior. The previous U01 project (NS 108923) focused on how these programs of action are initially created. The results thus far have revealed tantalizing notions of how the brain represents these programs and navigates through the programs. In this proposal, therefore, the investigators focus on the question of how these mental programs are executed. Based on the preliminary findings and critical conceptual work, the investigators propose that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) creates representations of the critical elements of these mental programs, including concepts such as 'rules' and 'locations', to allow for effective navigation through the algorithm. These data suggest the existence of an 'algorithmic state space' represented in medial temporal and prefrontal regions. This proposal aims to understand the neurophysiological underpinnings of this algorithmic state space in humans. By studying humans, the investigators will profit from our species' powerful capacity for generalization to understand how such state spaces are constructed. The investigators therefore leverage the unique opportunities available in human neuroscience research to record from single cells and population-level signals, as well as to use intracranial stimulation for causal testing, to address this challenging problem. In Aim 1 the investigators study the basic representations of algorithmic state space using a novel behavioral task that requires the immediate formation of unique plans of action. Aim 2 directly compares representations of algorithmic state space to that of physical space by juxtaposing balanced versions of spatial and algorithmic tasks in a virtual reality (VR) environment. Finally, in Aim 3, the investigators test hypotheses regarding interactions between vPFC and MTL using intracranial stimulation.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT05283811
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 205 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 10 Years to 64 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- May 31, 2021
- Primary completion
- Mar 30, 2027
- Completion
- Mar 30, 2028
- Last update posted
- Jul 5, 2026
2021 – 2028
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 3
- U.S. states
- 3
- U.S. cities
- 3
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles | California | 90095 | Recruiting |
| Baylor College of Medicine | Houston | Texas | 77030 | Recruiting |
| University of Utah | Salt Lake City | Utah | 84112 | Active, not recruiting |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT05283811, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Jul 5, 2026 · Synced Sep 2, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT05283811 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.