Capturing Autobiographical Memory Formation in Real World Spaces Using Multimodal Recordings

Summary

The goal of this observational study is to develop novel methods for integrating multimodal data streams with invasive neural recordings to study autobiographical memory (AM) formation in individuals with implanted neurostimulation devices (e.g., NeuroPace RNS) for epilepsy treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are:

How does the brain encode and retrieve real-world autobiographical memories? Can multimodal data integration enhance our understanding of memory-related cognitive and neural mechanisms?

Participants will:

* Use a smartphone-based recording application (CAPTURE app) to collect real-world data.
* Have their wearable sensor data (e.g., audio-visual, accelerometry, GPS, autonomic physiology, eye tracking) synchronized with invasive neural recordings.

Researchers will analyze these multimodal data streams to develop new analytic approaches for studying memory formation in naturalistic settings, with the long-term goal of informing neuromodulation-based memory enhancement treatments for individuals with memory disorders.

Conditions

• Epilepsy
• Autobiographical Memory

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Free and Cued Recall Memory. Temporal Sequence and Spatial Memory

Memory for real-world episodic experiences will be tested in the laboratory first with free recall (spoken narration of their recollections from each environment) and then with cued recall, in which participants will be cued with an event image from the CAPTURE app, a map location, or a relative time and asked to recall the other two non-cued pieces of episodic information (event, place, or time). Because we will know the 'ground truth', the cued recall test will allow us to measure how accurately the participant is able to remember key details of each episode. We will also assess temporal order memory by asking participants to arrange 1st person images in the order in which they occurred, and we will assess spatial memory by asking them to place each image on a schematic map of the venue.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  collaborator NIH

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  collaborator NIH

• University of California, San Diego

  collaborator OTHER

• University of California, Los Angeles

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Utah

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-01-30

Primary Completion

2027-03-31

Completion

2028-03-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations