Briefly turning off the hippocampus to preview memory after epilepsy surgery
Inactivation of the hippocampus by electrical stimulation to preview post-surgical verbal recognition memory deficits
Short electrical pulses through implanted hippocampal electrodes will temporarily block verbal memory in people with temporal lobe epilepsy so doctors can better preview memory after surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Southern California NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11295447 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you have mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and are undergoing inpatient depth-electrode monitoring, researchers will deliver brief electrical stimulation to the hippocampus while you do short memory tasks. The stimulation temporarily interrupts memory in the exact tissue surgeons may remove, and your test performance with and without stimulation will be compared. This aims to give a more precise preview of post-surgical memory changes than older methods like the Wada test because it targets the same small area planned for resection. The procedure is done during your clinical monitoring stay using electrodes already placed for seizure mapping.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy who are undergoing stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) with hippocampal depth electrodes and are being considered for hippocampal resection.
Not a fit: People not receiving invasive SEEG monitoring, those with seizures outside the mesial temporal lobe, or those not facing hippocampal surgery are unlikely to benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This could help predict who might lose verbal memory after hippocampal surgery and guide surgical planning to reduce memory loss.
How similar studies have performed: Researchers have used hippocampal electrical stimulation to disrupt memory in prior studies, but applying it specifically to preview post-surgical memory loss is a newer clinical approach with limited prior validation.
Where this research is happening
Los Angeles, UNITED STATES
- University of Southern California — Los Angeles, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lee, Brian — University of Southern California
- Study coordinator: Lee, Brian
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.