MASHC Social Cognition Clinical Pilot Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mapping social inference making in a clinical population; a pilot and clinical feasibility study investigating the use of novel social cognition tasks to map social inference making prior to brain tumour surgery.
IRAS ID
354612
Contact name
Jacki Bambrough
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
Patients who require neurosurgical treatment for Low Grade (Glioma) brain tumours are typically in their most productive years, balancing the demands of work and family life. Given the natural course of the disease it is essential for neuro-oncology teams to weigh up the risks that neurosurgical treatment may pose to essential functions which may impact on the patient’s sense of identity and their participation in valued roles (as parents, partners, work roles) following surgery.
To date research has focused predominantly on the preservation of language and motor functions, however depending on the tumour location neurosurgical treatment for LGGs may pose risks to an individual’s ability to understand emotions and to make social inferences regarding the intentions of others; cognitive functions which form the basis of human interaction (Mamadaliev et al, 2024).
The current study examines the clinical feasibility and utility of using functional neuroimaging prior to neurosurgery to map areas involved in social decision making in order to inform the potential risk to these skills, and to support surgical planning. Importantly, the study will also examine any changes to the areas and networks involved in language and social cognition before and after neurosurgery, to further our understanding regarding how amenable different brain areas might be to reorganisation.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SW/0115
Date of REC Opinion
7 Nov 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion