An interventional study of Speech Tasks in Epilepsy, Brain Tumor and Speech, sponsored by University of California, San Francisco. Enrolling by invitation at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-09-16.
Sponsored by University of California, San Francisco · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
Among 15 studies in Epilepsy by University of California, San Francisco — 5 open to participants now, 7 under way, none of them phase 3. Epilepsy · University of California, San Francisco.
Among the 15 studies in Epilepsy by University of California, San Francisco, this one is one of 3 that started in 2015, is one of 7 with no phase, and was the 9th registered.
1,848 studies on the registry are indexed under Epilepsy; 422 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 52 is close to the median of 50 across 1,239 interventional studies indexed under Epilepsy.
Browse Epilepsy studies →5 of the 15 studies in Epilepsy by University of California, San Francisco are open now, in 1 country. Each count lists the studies.
Of the 285 Epilepsy studies recruiting now, 113 (40%) set no upper age limit and 149 (52%) stop at 75 or younger; 139 take children under 18; 56 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 18 Years to 70 Years · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.
The full table on the hub →15 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
First in 2003; this study’s year is marked. 3 started in 2015.
Median enrollment 56 across the 8 interventional studies, 188 across the 7 observational. Of the 7 that completed or were terminated, 1 (14%) have results posted.
University of California, San Francisco is the lead sponsor of 2,169 studies on the registry; 372 are open to participants now.
Of its 267 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 202 (76%) have results posted.
5 of the studies in Epilepsy by University of California, San Francisco that are under way reach primary completion within a year, 0 of them phase 3. Phase 3 first, then by date:
| Study | Primary completion |
|---|---|
| NCT00305305University of California, San FranciscoBrain Development Research Program | 2027-01 |
| NCT05361070University of California, San FranciscoNeonatal Seizure Registry, GEnetics of Post-Neonatal Epilepsy | 2027-02-28 |
| NCT07680842University of California, San FranciscoNon-Invasive Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound Stimulation for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy | 2027-06-01 |
| NCT05435859University of California, San FranciscoFunctional Organization of the Superior Temporal Gyrus for Speech Perception | 2027-07-31 |
| NCT05876910University of California, San FranciscoNeural Mechanisms for Stopping Ongoing Speech Production | 2027-11-30 |
Among the 15 studies in Epilepsy by University of California, San Francisco, from their registry updates:
Nothing recorded among them since 2026-09-25.
The overall goal of this study is to reveal the fundamental neural mechanisms that underlie comprehension across human spoken languages. An understanding of how speech is coded in the brain has significant implications for the development of new diagnostic and rehabilitative strategies for language disorders (e.g. aphasia, dyslexia, autism, et alia). The basic mechanisms underlying comprehension of spoken language are unknown. Researchers are only beginning to understand how the human brain extracts the most fundamental linguistic elements (consonants and vowels) from a complex and highly variable acoustic signal. Traditional theories have posited a 'universal' phonetic inventory shared by all humans, but this has been challenged by other newer theories that each language has its own unique and specialized code. An investigation of the cortical representation of speech sounds across languages can likely shed light on this fundamental question. Previous research has implicated the superior temporal cortex in the processing of speech sounds. Most of this work has been entirely carried out in English. The recording of neural activity directly from the cortical surface from individuals with different language experience is a promising approach since it can provide both high spatial and temporal resolution. This study will examine the mechanisms of phonetic encoding, by utilizing neurophysiological recordings obtained during neurosurgical procedures. High-density electrode arrays, advanced signal processing, and direct electrocortical stimulation will be utilized to unravel both local and population encoding of speech sounds in the lateral temporal cortex. This study will also examine the neural encoding of speech in patients who are monolingual and bilingual in Mandarin, Spanish, and English, the most common spoken languages worldwide, and feature important contrastive differences of pitch, formant, and temporal envelope. A cross-linguistic approach is critical for a true understanding of language, while also striving to achieve a broader approach of diversity and inclusion in neuroscience of language.
Experimental approaches with significantly greater spatial and temporal resolution are necessary to directly resolve, both local- and population- level, the contrastive encoding of speech sounds. This study proposes an innovative methodological approach using customized intracranial high-density electrode arrays to record neural activity directly from nonprimary auditory cortex in patients undergoing clinical neurosurgical procedures (acute intraoperative and chronic extraoperative). This approach overcomes obstacles in traditional neuroimaging by offering high signal-to-noise recordings, unprecedented detailed spatiotemporal resolution, and a large number of simultaneously recorded cortical sites in awake, behaving subjects. The research study team will leverage the diversity of languages spoken by patients that are treated at the large volume epilepsy and tumor brain mapping programs at the University of California, San Francisco. They will examine cortical responses to speech stimuli (natural speech corpora and control tokens) in Spanish, Mandarin, and English speakers (monolingual and bilingual). They will also focus on encoding models in three fundamental domains of acoustic-phonetic cues that are present in all languages: pitch, formants, and amplitude envelope. The aims of this study seeks to determine how pitch cues encode lexical tone processing in Mandarin (Aim 1), the cortical representation of vowels in Spanish and English (Aim 2), and the encoding of the speech amplitude envelope in Spanish and English (Aim 3). Together, these aims will elucidate mechanistic principles of speech encoding in the human auditory cortex to understand what is shared and different across human spoken languages. Abnormalities in these fundamental processes have been implicated in a host of communication disorders such as dyslexia, developmental language disorder, central hearing loss, and aphasia. These results should heavily impact current theories of speech processing and, therefore, will have significant implications for understanding and remediating human disorders across different languages.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants listened to 20-minute Speech Tasks while ECoG signals for neural activity was recorded during their intraoperative procedure or inpatient hospitalization at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Behavioral: Speech Tasks
Listen to 20-minutes of speech sounds in English, Spanish, and/or Mandarin.
Number of Participants with Electrocorticography (ECoG) Signals for Neural Activity Identified During Intraoperative Procedure or Inpatient Hospitalization
Number of participants with ECoG signals for neural activity identified during intraoperative procedure or inpatient hospitalization, between 10-30 minutes.
Time frame: Between 10-30 minutes
Plan to share: No — No Individual Participant Data (IPD) will be made available to other researchers; only de-identified data will be shared with Collaborators for research analysis.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
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