How the brain represents objects and actions before and after brain tumor surgery
Official title: Representational Similarity Spaces for Objects and Actions Before and After Brain Tumor Surgery
Funded at Carnegie-Mellon University · NIH-11251807 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers compare how people's brains represent everyday objects and actions before and after brain tumor surgery using MRI scans and lesion mapping.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Carnegie-Mellon University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2015 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $510,664 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS089609-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251807 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults scheduled for brain tumor surgery who can safely have MRI scans and follow simple object-viewing or action-related tasks are the best fit.
✕Less likely to help
People without brain tumors, those who cannot undergo MRI, or those with severe cognitive or motor impairments that prevent task participation are unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
If you take part, you would have MRI scans before and after your brain tumor surgery while looking at pictures of common objects and thinking about actions. The team uses a new analytic method called voxel-based lesion representational similarity analysis (VL-RSA) to see how damage or removal in one brain area changes information in other, distant areas. By combining patient lesion information with detailed brain imaging, they aim to map which parts of the network are essential for recognizing and using objects. The work focuses on everyday object-processing and action-related brain areas and tracks changes across the surgery period.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help doctors pinpoint which brain areas are critical for recognizing and using objects and inform rehabilitation plans after tumor surgery.
How similar studies have gone: Previous fMRI and lesion studies have linked specific brain regions to object recognition and action, but combining lesion data with representational-similarity analysis (VL-RSA) in surgical patients is a newer approach with limited prior patient-based results.
Where this research is happening
-
Carnegie-Mellon University
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mahon, Bradford Zack — Carnegie-Mellon University
- Study coordinator: Mahon, Bradford Zack
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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.