Brain zaps may unlock secrets of memory
NCT ID NCT06252532
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This study looks at how electrical stimulation of the brain affects working memory in 50 people with epilepsy who already have electrodes implanted. Participants perform a memory task while receiving different types of stimulation. The goal is to understand brain rhythms and improve future therapies.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Direct cortical stimulation (CereStim M96 device)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this study could reveal which types of brain stimulation best improve working memory, potentially guiding treatments for memory disorders.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage pilot study with only 50 participants. It is designed to gather knowledge, not to test a treatment, so direct patient benefits are unlikely.
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 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
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: * Able to provide informed consent * History of medically intractable epilepsy * Speak and understand English * For the stimulation session, the participant must have electrodes in the relevant locations Exclusion Criteria: * Current diagnosis of other neurological illnesses including ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, brain neoplasm * Major systemic illness * Severe cognitive impairment - diagnosed by clinician in neuropsychiatric evaluation * Severe psychiatric illness * Excessive use of alcohol or other substances * Anything that, in the opinion of the investigator, would place the participant at increased risk or preclude the participant's full compliance with or completion of the study
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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
1 site. 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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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can lavender and lullabies help kids with epilepsy sleep better?
- Reading the Brain's signals to predict who benefits from deep brain stimulation
- Can a Comfort-Focused education program improve life with epilepsy?
- Can video games rewire young brains after injury?
- High-Fat Diet's effect on epilepsy: scientists track brain signals
- Epilepsy drug candidate put to the test in healthy volunteers