# Measuring Electrical Activity from the Human Brain to Predict Memory Formation and Behavior Across the Lifespan

> **NIH NIH R00** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $60,800

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY (not changed from the original parent R00 submission)
Memory is core to human cognition, undergoes protracted developmental maturation and age-
related decline, and is disrupted in numerous neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Despite the central role of memory in health and disease, remarkably little is known about the
neural mechanisms supporting memory across the human lifespan. This R00 project will
combine rare intracranial recordings from neurosurgical patients and advanced
electrophysiological data analysis to track memory formation and maintenance in real
time, and predict behavior in children, adolescents, and adults. With these spatiotemporally
precise measures of memory formation and maintenance, this research will address critical gaps
in knowledge about this core neurocognitive function. Comparative analysis between intracranial
recordings and scalp electroencephalography (EEG) measures will further identify noninvasive
EEG metrics applicable to developmental, lifespan, and disease-related research.As a tenure-
track independent investigator at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the PI will
continue and expand on the progress made during the K99 phase in two complementary,
innovative directions. Aim 1 will map predictors of memory formation and maintenance from the
level of single neurons to that of large-scale neural circuits using simultaneous recordings
obtained from medial temporal and prefrontal regions in adults. Aim 2 will define
electrophysiological predictors of memory success across the lifespan using intracranial
recordings obtained from medial temporal and prefrontal regions in children, adolescents, and
adults. The overarching hypothesis is that sub-second interactions in medial temporal,
prefrontal, and medial temporal-prefrontal circuits will predict individual memory
formation. Completion of these Aims will generate novel mechanistic explanations of human
memory formation from childhood into adulthood. This research is directly relevant to Priorities #6
and #7 of the BRAIN 2025 Report. New in this R00 transition proposal is the additional collection
of single-unit neuronal data from pediatric patients in preparation for the PI to submit an
independent R01 application by the end of the funding period. This R00-funded work will establish
one of the first single-unit pediatric research programs to exist nationally or internationally.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10647358
- **Project number:** 3R00NS115918-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Johnson
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $60,800
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-12-15 → 2024-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10647358

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10647358, Measuring Electrical Activity from the Human Brain to Predict Memory Formation and Behavior Across the Lifespan (3R00NS115918-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10647358. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*