Can watching your own brain activity on a screen sharpen memory after childhood brain cancer?

NCT ID NCT07830134

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
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Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
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Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

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Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

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Status unknown
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First seen Sep 21, 2026 · Last updated Sep 21, 2026

Summary

Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are testing a brain-training method called real-time fMRI neurofeedback for survivors of childhood medulloblastoma. Many survivors struggle with attention and working memory after tumor treatment. In this study, 40 participants aged 10 to 25 who have working memory difficulties are randomly assigned to receive feedback from either a memory-related brain region or a comparison region. Over three visits, they complete brain scans, neurofeedback sessions, and thinking tests. The main goal is to see whether this training is practical, safe, and comfortable, and whether it may improve brain activity and working memory.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
real-time fMRI neurofeedback targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer survivors a non-drug way to strengthen working memory and attention after treatment. It may also point to brain-training approaches for other cancer survivors with thinking difficulties.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early study with 40 participants, so it cannot prove the training works. Some people may find the brain scans uncomfortable, and the benefits may not last or may not apply to everyone.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 40 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jul 2026

Expected to finish

Dec 2033

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

10 to 25 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 10 and ≤ 25 years at the time of enrollment. * English as a primary language. * Current St. Jude participants who received treatment for medulloblastoma with upfront craniospinal radiotherapy (proton or photon), inclusive of SJMB12 participants and those treated as per SJMB12 at least 2 years from completion of treatment of their medulloblastoma. * Demonstrate working memory impairment based on age-appropriate questionnaire electronically administered pre-enrollment. Specifically, scores \>57 on the Working Memory Index of the BRIEF (places the individual in the top 25% of people who have difficulty with working memory tasks). Exclusion Criteria: * History of seizures, on or off antiepileptic drugs, in the past 3 months. * A premorbid history of significant neurological disease, including stroke or head injury with loss of consciousness. * A psychiatric condition that would preclude or take precedence over study participation (e.g., active psychosis, suicidal ideation). * Major sensory or motor impairment that would preclude valid cognitive testing secondary to inability to complete study procedures (e.g., blindness, paresis). * IQ \< 70 based on standardized testing routinely conducted on primary treatment protocols or as part of the New Oncology Program in Psychology (NOPP). * Metal or surgical implants that would prevent MRI scanning. * Inability or unwillingness of research participant or legal guardian/ representative to give written informed consent. * Pregnancy. The St. Jude IRB requires that a female participant of childbearing potential (generally \>10 yrs. old) must have a negative pregnancy test as a condition of clinical research eligibility. * Permanent orthodontic retainers or braces-shunt, anything else that would not be a safety risk but would impact image quality.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

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How to take part

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  2. The places running it

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  3. The official record

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Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, United States

    Contact Email: •••••@•••••

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