NCT06386588

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

The Effects of Auditory Stimulation During Sleep on Offline Learning and Thalamocortical-hippocampal Connectivity in Schizophrenia

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 45 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

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.

Conditions

• Schizophrenia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Closed loop auditory stimulation during sleep	Short bursts of pink noise delivered at precise times during overnight sleep at home.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-02-05
• Primary completion: 2027-06-30
• Completion: 2027-12-31
• First posted: 2024-04-26
• Last updated: 2025-05-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States