Brain Representation of Acquisition in Humans of Motor-Sensory Skills (BRAHMS)

Interactions between the perceptual and motor systems are fundamental to the performance of complex motor tasks and are at the heart of the fine motor control required for the production of complex sounds such as speech production or playing a musical instrument. In such situations, the brain must learn to generate relevant motor commands to a sound-producing system with fixed physical characteristics, such as the vocal tract or a musical instrument.

No study has yet been able to directly test the dynamic aspect of this sensorimotor learning in an acoustic production task with fine motor control.

The Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital takes care of patients requiring awake surgery. During these procedures, a direct cortical recording, called electro-corticography, is performed in order to better delineate the tumor or epileptogenic resection area. Reference recordings are made in healthy areas at a distance from the lesion site making it possible to record normal brain activity.

In this case, we would propose to the patient to use a tool similar to the theremin (a musical instrument the size of a golf ball whose displacement in space modulates the frequency and the harmonics of a sound). The patient should therefore learn in order to create relevant motor patterns.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Epilepsy; Cerebral Tumor
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: use of a theremin-type musical instrument

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Pierre Bourdillon, MD PHD; Phone Number: +33 1 48 03 66 12; Email: pbourdillon@for.paris

Study Locations

• France
  • Paris, France, 75010
    • Recruiting
    • Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild
    • Contact: Pierre Bourdillon, MD; Phone Number: +33 1 48 03 66 12; 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

Patient benefiting from an intracranial brain recording during a programmed surgery for epilepsy or cerebral tumor resection in awake condition.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Benefiting from an intracranial brain recording during a programmed surgery in awake condition.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient with complete deafness
• Patient with a disorder or impairment that does not allow him/her to perform the experimental task according to the investigator's judgment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Other
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
intracranial electroencephalography recording	intracranial electroencephalography recording	Day 0

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 4, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 9, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 9, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): January 18, 2023

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

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Epilepsy
• Other Study ID Numbers: PBN_2022_9

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