The Effects of Auditory Stimulation During Sleep on Brain Networks in Schizophrenia

Massachusetts General Hospital60 enrolled

Overview

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.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 45 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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 Exclusion Criteria for Healthy adults: * History of mental illness * Current use of psychotropic medications or treatment with medications known to affect sleep or cognition

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Changes in sleep physiology

Changes in slow oscillations, sleep spindles, and slow oscillation-spindle coupled events as measured by sleep EEG headband

Time frame: across 5 nights of sleep with auditory stimulation

Changes in functional connectivity of the hippocampus and thalamus

Changes in functional connectivity of the hippocampus and thalamus as measured by resting state functional connectivity MRI

Time frame: Approximately 1 week between baseline and follow-up scans

Changes in hippocampal activation during motor sequence task (MST)

Changes in hippocampal activation during the MST as measured by functional MRI

Time frame: Approximately 1 week between baseline and follow-up scans

Changes in hippocampal microstructural integrity

Changes in hippocampal microstructural integrity as measured by diffusion-weighted MRI

Time frame: Approximately 30 minutes between pre- and post-task diffusion-weighted MRI scans

Secondary Outcomes

Greater gains in typing speed over rest breaks during MST training (micro-offline gains)

MST training sessions prior to sleep consisting of typing trials separated by rest periods. We will measure typing speed before and after rest breaks.

Time frame: Approximately 5 days between pre- and post-stimulation MST administrations

Sleep dependent memory consolidation (SDMC)

Comparison of SDMC between the Baseline MST only and MST with CLASS nights