Effects of Brain Stimulation During Nocturnal Sleep on Memory Consolidation in Younger, Healthy Subjects

• Sponsor: Charite University, Berlin, Germany (Other)
• Overall Status: Completed
• CT.gov ID: NCT01832740
• Collaborator: (none)
• Enrollment: 22
• Location: 1
• Arms: 2
• Duration (Months): 24
• Patients Per Site Per Month: 0.9

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The beneficial effect of nocturnal sleep on memory consolidation is well-documented in young, healthy subjects. Especially, periods rich in slow-wave sleep (SWS) have shown a memory enhancing effect on hippocampus-dependent declarative memory. Slow oscillatory activity typically occuring during SWS has been implicated in the consolidation effect. In this study we investigate if the consolidation effect can be amplified by the application of a weak transcranial oscillatory electric current within the frequency range of SWS in humans (0,7-0,8 Hz) during nocturnal SWS.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Healthy Subjects	Device: brain stimulation; Device: SHAM	N/A

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Anticipated Enrollment: 22 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: Impact of Transcranial Slow Oscillating Stimulation on Memory Consolidation During Nocturnal Slow Wave Sleep in Younger, Healthy Subjects
• Study Start Date: Jan 1, 2013
• Actual Primary Completion Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Actual Study Completion Date: Jan 1, 2015

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: 0,75 Hz stimulation slow transcranial oscillating stimulation (~0,75Hz) during periods of Slow Wave Sleep	Device: brain stimulation; oscillating direct current brain stimulation
Experimental: SHAM stimulation SHAM stimulation during periods of Slow Wave Sleep	Device: SHAM; no stimulation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

1. Retention of declarative memories after 0.75 Hz stimulation during SWS, vs after sham stimulation during SWS [4 weeks]

   Retention (difference values between performance at retrieval after sleep minus performance at learning before sleep) between stimulation conditions (0.75 Hz during SWS, vs sham stimulation during SWS) in the declarative memory task.

Secondary Outcome Measures

1. 1. Amount of Slow wave Sleep [4 weeks]

   1. Amount of slow wave sleep assessed by standard polysomnographic criteria in 0,75 Hz vs SHAM stimulation during SWS.

2. 2. sleep spindels [4 weeks]

   2. Spindel activity during sleep indicated via several spindel parameters like number, duration, frequency of spindles; compared between 0,75 Hz and SHAM stimulation during SWS.

3. 3. EEG-correlates [4 weeks]

   3. Neuronal correlates (EEG-power in slow oscillation frequency bands induced by 0,75 Hz vs SHAM stimulation during SWS; EEG-correlates of encoding and retrieval of a declarative memory task).

4. 4. further memory systems [4 weeks]

   4. Performance in further memory systems (procedural), compared between 0,75 Hz and SHAM stimulation during SWS.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 35 Years
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthy Subjects

• unobtrusive, neuropsychological screening

• age: 18-35 years

• right handed

Exclusion Criteria:

• untreated severe internal or psychiatric diseases

• epilepsy

• other severe neurological diseases eg., previous major stroke, brain tumour

• contraindications to MRI

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	Charite CCM Neurologie Berlin	Berlin		Germany	10117

Sponsors and Collaborators

• Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Investigators

• Principal Investigator: Agnes Flöel, Professor, Charite Universitätsmedizin Berlin - Neurologie

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

• Diekelmann S, Born J. The memory function of sleep. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2010 Feb;11(2):114-26. doi: 10.1038/nrn2762. Epub 2010 Jan 4. Review.
• Marshall L, Helgadóttir H, Mölle M, Born J. Boosting slow oscillations during sleep potentiates memory. Nature. 2006 Nov 30;444(7119):610-3. Epub 2006 Nov 5.

• Responsible Party: Agnes Flöel, Prof. Agnes Flöel, MD, Charite University, Berlin, Germany
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01832740
• Other Study ID Numbers: Nighttime sleep-tSOS-Young
• First Posted: Apr 16, 2013
• Last Update Posted: Mar 16, 2016
• Last Verified: Mar 1, 2016

• Keywords provided by Agnes Flöel, Prof. Agnes Flöel, MD, Charite University, Berlin, Germany: young healthy subjects; brain stimulation; tSOS; tDCS; sleep; memory; memory consolidation

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Mar 16, 2016