Schizophrenia
Conditions
Keywords
Hippocampus, Neuromodulation, Sleep spindles, Thalamocortical circuits, Auditory stimulation, Magnetic resonance imaging, Sleep, Memory
Brief summary
In this research study the investigators will use sleep headbands to measure brain rhythms and to improve their coordination across brain regions. The headbands will be worn at home for multiple nights. On some nights the headbands will play soft sounds at specific times during sleep. The investigators are interested in learning whether this timed auditory stimulation may be a strategy to improve the coordination of sleep rhythms across brain regions, improve network communication, and as a result, improve memory. The investigators will study 30 adults aged 18-45 with schizophrenia and 30 demographically matched healthy controls. Participants will first have a daytime MRI scan, during which they will complete a finger tapping motor sequence task (MST), followed by a week of sleep at home with a sleep headband. They will also do the MST at home on two of the nights. On the final day of the study, participants will return for a second MRI scan.
Interventions
OTHERClosed loop auditory stimulation during sleep
Short bursts of pink noise delivered at precise times during overnight sleep at home.
Sponsors
Massachusetts General Hospital
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 18-45 years old * Fluent in English * Able to give informed consent Additional inclusion for Adults with schizophrenia: * A DSM-V confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia * Unmedicated or maintained on a stable dose of APDs
Exclusion criteria
* Ferrous metal in the body * Currently pregnant or breastfeeding * Motor problems that preclude finger tapping task * IQ \<85 * Other neurological disorders, including seizure disorder * Significant hearing or vision loss * Chronic medical conditions that affect sleep * Unstable chronic medical condition such as asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, or cardiac disease * Diagnosed sleep disorder, except insomnia * History of head injury resulting in prolonged loss of consciousness or other neurological sequelae Additional
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in sleep physiology | across 5 nights of sleep with auditory stimulation | Changes in slow oscillations, sleep spindles, and slow oscillation-spindle coupled events as measured by sleep EEG headband |
| Changes in functional connectivity of the hippocampus and thalamus | Approximately 1 week between baseline and follow-up scans | Changes in functional connectivity of the hippocampus and thalamus as measured by resting state functional connectivity MRI |
| Changes in hippocampal activation during motor sequence task (MST) | Approximately 1 week between baseline and follow-up scans | Changes in hippocampal activation during the MST as measured by functional MRI |
| Changes in hippocampal microstructural integrity | Approximately 30 minutes between pre- and post-task diffusion-weighted MRI scans | Changes in hippocampal microstructural integrity as measured by diffusion-weighted MRI |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Greater gains in typing speed over rest breaks during MST training (micro-offline gains) | Approximately 5 days between pre- and post-stimulation MST administrations | MST training sessions prior to sleep consisting of typing trials separated by rest periods. We will measure typing speed before and after rest breaks. |
| Sleep dependent memory consolidation (SDMC) | Approximately 5 days between pre- and post-stimulation MST administrations | Comparison of SDMC between the Baseline MST only and MST with CLASS nights |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactLindsey Jones, MS
Backup ContactDara Manoach, PhD
Outcome results
None listed