Evoked connectivity of cortical stimulation for memory
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Despite promising results, it remains unclear how to optimally target and personalize closed-loop stimulation to ameliorate deficits in memory and other cognitive functions. We hypothesized that evoked connectivity – the measurement of neural pathway activation using single pulses of electrical stimulation – can guide patient-specific selection of stimulation location and parameters for memory. We characterized brain-wide evoked connectivity profiles of stimulation in memory-related brain regions recorded from 81 patients undergoing intracranial monitoring for epilepsy, showing that greater evoked connectivity between the lateral temporal cortex and the broader memory network (including the mesial temporal lobe, limbic regions and prefrontal cortex) corroborates observations of memory improvement by lateral temporal cortex stimulation. We first found that the lateral temporal cortex, compared to other stimulated regions, evokes the greatest and most distributed connectivity response throughout other memory-related regions. Evoked connectivity in downstream regions is greatest when stimulating a previously identified optimal target for memory improvement, bordering white matter at the rostrocaudal center of the middle temporal gyrus. Evoked connectivity corroborates other biomarkers of memory improvement by closed-loop stimulation, including increased resting-state functional connectivity between stimulated and recorded sites and increased modulation of oscillatory power. These results provide insight into the network mechanisms of stimulation for memory and suggest that evoked connectivity can more broadly predict the functional effects of closed-loop stimulation to prospectively guide targeting and parameter selection.
Source: medRxiv
Institutions: Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Baylor College of Medicine, The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Oregon Health & Science University, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, University of California, Los Angeles, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Thomas Jefferson University, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7123747575