NCT06763471

Measuring Single Neuron Activity in the Brain

Single Unit Neurophysiological Architecture of the Neocortex (SUNAN)

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 50 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University College, London · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The SUNAN (Single Unit Neurophysiological Architecture of the Neocortex) study aims to understand how individual brain cells called neurons interact and communicate, and how the neurons can be affected in neurological disease. Using an advanced digital probe called the "Neuropixels probe," which is as thin as a human hair, the investigators can record electrical activity from individual neurons on the outmost layer of the brain (cerebral cortex). This electrical (neurophysiological) activity recording technique allows the investigators to isolate and monitor single-neuron activity from the human brain during planned neurosurgical operations in real time.

Detailed description

The SUNAN study plans to recruit fifty patients scheduled for brain surgery, such as for tumour removal or operations that involve the fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) within the brain, at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Participation is voluntary, and the suitability will be assessed by the participant's neurosurgeon. Patients who participate in SUNAN will undergo their planned neurosurgery as per standard of care with the additional step of a neurophysiological recording made from the brain using a Neuropixels probe. This recording step and the data collected will not affect the rest of the patients care which will proceed in the usual way and the data is collected solely for scientific purposes. The investigators believe that the insights gained from these electrical recordings from individual neurons will deepen our understanding of brain function and potentially lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases.

Conditions

• Neurological Diseases or Conditions

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Neuropixels recording intraoperatively during planned neurosurgery	The SUNAN study is a basic science study involving a procedure to record single-unit neurophysiological activity with human participants who are already undergoing a transcranial neurosurgical procedure on the brain. As part of the surgery, a region of cerebral cortex on the convexity of the brain will be: * Resected e.g., as removal of part of a tumour or epilepsy focused. Or * Transgressed as part of the surgical approach to reach a deeper target e.g., resection of a deep tumour or cavernoma. Or • Transgressed by the passage of a surgical implant e.g., a ventriculoperitoneal shunt catheter or deep brain stimulation electrode. Within this region of the brain that is going to be resected or transgressed, the research team will undertake a single-unit resolution neurophysiological recording (NR) using a digital neural probe (Neuropixels) for a maximum of 15 minutes.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-02-01
• Primary completion: 2027-02-01
• Completion: 2028-02-01
• First posted: 2025-01-08
• Last updated: 2025-01-08