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Purpose

The purpose of this study is to compare organization of normal brain function as detected using Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in normal subjects as opposed to patients with epilepsy or brain tumors, to ascribe precise anatomic labels (including Brodmann Areas) and functional significance to each region involved in cognitive processes as detected by cortical stimulation mapping (CSM) in patients with implanted subdural electrodes (SDE) or depth (sEEG) electrodes, to describe the locations of these regions in Talairach space, for a population of patients without overt structural abnormalities in these regions, to generate a spatial probability map of locations of cortical regions "essential" for these processes, to compare the loci of "crucial" language, visual, motor and cognitive sites as determined by CSM with the loci determined by a battery of tasks using fMRI for each individual and to use these data in patients undergoing intracranial electro-corticographyto determine the loci of essential, involved and uninvolved brain areas, and use sophisticated mathematical analyses of these intracranial recordings to study information flow between these areas.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 75 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • patients with medically refractory epilepsy who are scheduled to undergo or have previously undergone placement of sub-dural electrodes (including depth electrodes) to localize the site of seizure onset and to map the locations of critical language and motor regions - patients with epilepsy, brain tumors or cortically based vascular malformations (cavernous malformations or arterio-venous malformations) with lesions that are/were proximate to crucial brain regions, and who are scheduled to undergo or have previously undergone intra-op mapping of motor, visual or language function, or a Wada test, or maybe part of an awake craniotomy. - proficiency in English

Exclusion Criteria

  • Gross structural abnormalities (large hamartomata, tumors, large vascular malformations, very large diffuse malformations of cortical development) that may have impacted upon the location of critical brain areas. - Unable to participate in testing due to impaired cognition or mental retardation. - Cardiac pacemakers, intracranial aneurysm clips, or other potentially mobile implanted metallic devices - Patients with claustrophobia who cannot undergo an MRI scan without sedation

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
N/A
Intervention Model
Single Group Assignment
Primary Purpose
Basic Science
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Neural recordings and stimulation during language tasks
  • Behavioral: Language-based tasks
    In either the MRI suite, or the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, or the operating room, epilepsy and tumor subjects are asked to perform a variety of language-based tasks as neural recordings are made from and/or neural stimulations are delivered to various language areas of the brain.

Recruiting Locations

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, Texas 77479
Contact:
Nitin Tandon, MD
713-500-5456
Nitin.Tandon@uth.tmc.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Study Contact

Nitin Tandon, MD
713-500-5456
Nitin.Tandon@uth.tmc.edu

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.