Clinical Study of How Information Flows Across the Human Cortical Sheet Layers (Laminae), Aiming to Discover Key Principles of Laminar Circuits and Information Flow for Complex Behavior.

Launched by CHRISTOPHER I. PETKOV · Jul 9, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical study is exploring how information moves through the six layers of the human brain’s outer surface, called the cortex. Understanding this “flow” is important because it helps explain how our brain supports complex activities like memory and language. The study will include people who are having certain types of brain surgery, such as for epilepsy or tumors, as well as healthy volunteers. During the study, participants will complete memory and language tasks while their brain activity is recorded using special high-resolution brain scans or safe electrodes placed on the brain during surgery. Some surgical patients may also provide small tissue samples that would be removed as part of their treatment to help with genetic research.

Adults aged 18 to 80 who are either undergoing specific brain surgeries or are healthy volunteers can take part. People with psychiatric conditions, drug addiction, or those who cannot do English-based tasks or have metal in their body that prevents MRI scans cannot participate. If you join, you can expect to take part in brain imaging or surgical monitoring while performing simple memory and language exercises. This study is important because it aims to uncover new details about how the brain works, which could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat many brain disorders in the future.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patients: Eligible for wake DBS implantation or epilepsy/tumor/biopsy treatment procedure, within the age range of 18 and 80 years old.
• • Healthy controls: can only participate in the non-invasive brain imaging study, within the age range of 18 and 80 years old.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Psychiatric disorder
• • Drug addiction
• • Not able to conduct an English based language task
• • Not capable of being scanned with MRI (e.g., metal implants)