Effects of Social Feedback on Intracranial EEG

Launched by TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · May 8, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how social feedback, or the opinions and feelings we get from others, affects brain activity in patients with epilepsy. Specifically, researchers want to understand how patients' perceptions of their healthcare providers—like how warm and competent they seem—may influence their brain responses during certain tasks. The study will involve 24 patients at the Epilepsy Center at Dartmouth Health Medical Center who are undergoing a procedure to identify the areas of their brains responsible for seizures.

To be eligible for the study, participants must be between 18 and 65 years old and diagnosed with epilepsy that doesn't respond to typical treatments. They will have electrodes placed in their brains to record electrical activity while they rate their doctors and complete tasks that involve pictures and math. It's important to note that patients with other serious neurological or psychiatric conditions may not be able to participate. This study hopes to provide insights that could improve epilepsy care and patient-provider interactions.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patients must be between 18-65 years of age.
• • Patients must have a diagnosis of refractory epilepsy undergoing intracranial EEG recording for clinical purposes.
• • Patients with a legal guardian will be considered for participation if they are interested and, in the judgment of the research team, they are capable of performing the cognitive tasks required of the study. In those instances, the patient and their legal guardian will both participate in the informed consent process, with the legal guardian signing the consent form.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Patient has additional neurological condition (such as stroke or dementia) or a psychiatric condition (such as active psychosis or suicidal ideation) and are deemed inappropriate for the study.
• • Patients are not able to provide informed consent for any reason (e.g. encephalopathic, experiencing a seizure).