NCT07224191

Hippocampal Oscillations During Exploration

Human Hippocampal Oscillations During Visuomotor Exploration

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 56 (estimated)
• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The objective of this study is to determine how visuomotor exploration relates to hippocampal activity along its long axis. The study will investigate the neurophysiological mechanisms in the hippocampus during (1) visual exploration in surgical patients using high-resolution iEEG, and (2) ambulatory exploration in patients implanted with RNS devices.

Detailed description

Aim 1 - Visual Exploration in Surgical Patients Investigators will study 20 surgical patients with high-resolution intracranial EEG (iEEG) to investigate hippocampal activity during visual exploration. Participants will view between 10-15 panoramic environments using Meta Quest AR/VR glasses while their eye movements and head turns are tracked. Eye-tracking, head-turn, and iEEG data will be synchronized with visual stimuli, and intracranial EEG and single-unit data will be analyzed for changes in neuronal firing and brain activity before and after saccades. Aim 2 - Ambulatory Exploration in RNS Patients and Healthy Controls Investigators will study 12 epilepsy patients with implanted responsive neurostimulator (RNS) devices and 24 healthy controls (HCs) during real-world exploration. Participants will walk through and explore visually distinct rooms while wearing synchronized high-density EEG (hdEEG), eye-tracking glasses, and body position sensors. Data from hippocampal iEEG, hdEEG, eye tracking, and motion sensors will be synchronized offline to examine brain-behavior relationships and the influence of cognitive load on saccade-hippocampal interactions.

Conditions

• Epilepsy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Visual Exploration	Cognitive testing while admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit (number of sessions will vary depending on patient availability and stamina).
OTHER	Ambulatory Exploration	Series of cognitive tasks completed during a study visit.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-02-25
• Primary completion: 2028-10-08
• Completion: 2028-10-08
• First posted: 2025-11-04
• Last updated: 2026-02-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States