PLORAN
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Predicting Language Outcome and Recovery After Neurosurgery (PLORAN)
IRAS ID
253670
Contact name
Cathy J. Price
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2018/10/80, UCL Data Protection Number
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Brain tumours or drug-resistant epilepsy can affect the function of regions that are critical for speech and language. Despite the risk of damage to these regions, surgery remains the optimum treatment. The neurosurgeon therefore has to balance removing as much of the affected tissue as possible while minimizing damage to speech and language areas that could affect the patient’s future ability to work, communicate with family or friends or even live independently. Current neurosurgical planning relies on (1) subjective anatomical knowledge of the brain regions, which are important for language and (2) pre-surgical fMRI testing, usually consisting of one or two tasks. Even when the two sources are combined, the effect of surgery on language abilities cannot be confidently predicted. In this study, we will use (i) fMRI data of healthy participants and (ii) lesion-deficit maps from stroke, pre- and post-surgical patients with tumours and epilepsy to create a map of language functions in the human brain. Our goal is to utilise the previously collected information and patient’s own fMRI data to select highly specific and sensitive tasks that test the function of brain areas targeted for neurosurgery.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
19/WA/0081
Date of REC Opinion
6 Mar 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion