NCT06252532

Causal Role of Top-Down Theta Oscillations in Prioritization

Modulating Oscillations and Working Memory in Patients With Subdural Electrodes

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 50 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the dynamics between theta and alpha oscillations in the control of working memory. These findings will be informative of what types of brain stimulation are most effective at modulating brain activity. Deep brain stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation are used for an increasing number of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Participants: Eligible participants are patients who have previously had electrodes implanted to monitor epilepsy (outside of research activity). 50 participants will be recruited, 25 participants for each phase of the study. Procedures (methods): The participants will perform a cognitive control task. During the task, rhythmic trains of direct cortical stimulation will be delivered to the frontal cortex alone or to the frontal and parietal cortex. Electrocorticography will be collected concurrent with stimulation.

Detailed description

The aim of this study is to investigate the causal role of functional interactions between frontal-theta dependent selection processes and posterior-alpha dependent suppression processes in the context of cognitive control by targeting theta and alpha oscillations in frontal and parietal cortex separately in phase one of the experiment. Theta and alpha oscillations are hypothesized to play complementary roles such that theta oscillations are excitatory (related to active processing) whereas alpha oscillations are inhibitory (related to suppression of processing). Thus, the investigators hypothesize that rhythmic brain stimulation can be used to drive activity in opposite directions. In the second phase of the experiment the investigators target functional connectivity between these regions. In particular, theta oscillations are hypothesized to play a critical role in orchestrating the prioritization and suppression of information across the cerebral cortex. Thus, the investigators hypothesize that in-phase theta frequency connectivity will be causally related to working memory success, but alpha frequency connectivity will be inconsequential and anti-phase theta connectivity will be detrimental. Together these findings suggest an overall model by which the amplitude of theta oscillations in prefrontal and the amplitude of alpha oscillations in parietal play a causal role in prioritization and suppression respectively, but functional connectivity between frontal and parietal cortex within the theta frequency band alone is critical to these cognitive processes. This experiment is of critical importance to the design of future interventions that use brain stimulation for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders. For example, the use of frequency specific brain stimulation is key to controlling the impact of brain stimulation on neural activity. Design considerations like this one might be fundamental to improving the efficacy of future interventions such as the use of deep brain stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and for the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

Conditions

• Working Memory
• Epilepsy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Direct cortical stimulation (DCS) Alpha	Rhythmic alpha stimulation
DEVICE	Direct cortical stimulation (DCS) Theta	Rhythmic theta stimulation applied
DEVICE	Sham Direct cortical stimulation (DCS)	Arrhythmic stimulation paradigm applied
DEVICE	Direct cortical stimulation (DCS) In-Phase Theta	Rhythmic in-phase theta stimulation applied
DEVICE	Direct cortical stimulation (DCS) Anti-Phase Theta	Rhythmic anti-phase theta stimulation applied

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-07-01
• Primary completion: 2026-01-31
• Completion: 2026-01-31
• First posted: 2024-02-09
• Last updated: 2025-01-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study