Language Acquisition in the Brain and Algorithms: Towards Systematic Monitoring of the Evolution of Semantic Representations in Biological and Artificial Neural Networks (SYNTAXE)

Speech depends on our ability to recursively combine successive words into a complex sense. Although the order of these putative operations (syntax) has been the subject of extensive examination in the way in which the human brain learns to perform a "Semantic composition" remains largely unknown.

The Rothschild Hospital houses a unit specializing in drug-resistant epilepsy in children from 2 to 20 years old.

The identification of the epileptogenic zone often requires making an iEEG recording for a week (implantation of intracerebral electrodes in depth).

Sometimes this recording has to be repeated, providing a unique opportunity to directly record brain activity at different periods of its development.

Children will listen to pre-recorded phrases and stories such as "The Little Prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry" while being recorded with iEEG.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Language Acquisition in the Brain
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: intracranial brain recording

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Amélie YACHITZ; Phone Number: (0)148036454; Email: ayavchitz@for.paris

Study Locations

• France
  • France
    • Paris, France, France, 75019
      • Recruiting
      • Fondation ophtalmologique de Rothschild
      • Contact: Pierre Bourdillon; Email: pbourdillon@for.paris

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Any patient benefiting from a long-term intracranial brain recording

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Any patient benefiting from a long-term intracranial brain recording.
• Non-opposition to participating in the study (adult patients)
• Non-opposition of at least one of the holders of the exercise of parental authority (minor patients)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient with complete deafness

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
This is a non-clinical research study investigating from intracranial recordings how speech representation changes throughout human development.	intracranial recordings	maximum 21 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 15, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 15, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 15, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 19, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 19, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): February 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 30, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Intracranial recordings
• Other Study ID Numbers: PBN_2021_25

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No