Brain surgery breakthrough? scientists decode how electrical mapping affects the brain
NCT ID NCT06391294
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Aug 07, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at how electrocortical stimulation (ECS) affects brain cells and speech areas during brain surgery for epilepsy or tumors. Researchers will have 65 participants perform simple tasks while their brains are mapped, sometimes with mild cooling. The goal is to understand how ECS works, which could lead to shorter surgeries and better outcomes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- focal cortical cooling
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this study could help surgeons perform faster, more precise brain surgeries by better understanding how brain mapping works.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage observational study with only 65 participants, so findings may not apply to all patients. The cooling procedure is painless but may not reveal clear insights.
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
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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
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About 65 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Requiring awake, cortical mapping for brain tumor resection or implantation of intracranial electrodes for extraoperative monitoring for epilepsy * For extraoperative patients: Planned electrode coverage including at least parts of frontal and temporal or parietal lobes, preferably both anterior (inferior frontal gyrus) and posterior language areas (superior temporal gyrus) in the language dominant hemisphere * For intraoperative patients: Planned craniotomy including parts of both frontal and temporal anterior and posterior language areas in the language dominant hemisphere. Exclusion Criteria: * Significant language or speech impairment, including but not limited to aphasia, dysarthria, and apraxia of speech, consistently preventing patient from speaking words * Non English-speaking (because this is a study of language networks, and second language could be encoded differently) * Impaired cognitive function, as determined by neurological testing, such that the patient cannot follow test instructions or provide written informed consent * Tumor infiltrating, or within 1 cm of, multiple of the cortical or subcortical areas studied in this proposal (inferior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, superior temporal gyrus) * Ferromagnetic implants that are MRI incompatible or other contraindications to MRI * Pregnancy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, United States
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Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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