Can watching your own brain activity on a screen sharpen memory after childhood brain cancer?
NCT ID NCT07830134
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
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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 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2033
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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10 to 25 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: * 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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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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 study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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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
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
RECRUITINGMemphis, Tennessee, 38105, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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