Sound Tones During Sleep Tested in Early Schizophrenia
Tests sound tones played during deep sleep in adults with early schizophrenia.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Restoring Spindle and Thalamocortical Efficiency in Early-Course Schizophrenia Patients Using Auditory Stimulation
Key facts
- Where
- Pittsburgh, United StatesSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 40 years old?
Source: NCT05956951, who can take part
Where in United States
- University of PittsburghPittsburgh, United StatesTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Fabio Ferrarelli
- Trial code
- NCT05956951
- Record updated
- 4 June 2026
- Original description
The purpose of this research is to identify differences in brain activity during sleep between health individuals and individuals with schizophrenia, schizophreniform, or schizoaffective disorder. This study will also investigate whether tones played during deep sleep can enhance specific features of sleep and whether enhancing such features is related to an improvement in cognitive performance.Read full original descriptionShow less
Restoring Spindle and Thalamocortical Efficiency in Early-Course Schizophrenia Patients Using Closed-Loop Auditory Stimulation
The purpose of this research is to identify differences in brain activity during sleep between health individuals and individuals with schizophrenia, schizophreniform, or schizoaffective disorder. This study will also investigate whether tones played during deep sleep can enhance specific features of sleep and whether enhancing such features is related to an improvement in cognitive performance.
Inclusion: Early-course schizophrenia (EC-SCZ):; ages 18-40 years; current DSM-IV defined diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective disorder, not drug-induced, with no previously reported psychotic episode; duration of ≤5 years from beginning of psychosis, defined by report of symptoms and/or history of treatment according to clinical guidelines employed in our University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) psychoses clinics in Pittsburgh; lifetime exposure to antipsychotic medications ≤5 years; Healthy controls (HC):; ages 18-40 years; no lifetime history of psychiatric disorders; no first-degree family history of schizophrenia spectrum disorder or mood disorder with psychotic features.
Exclusion: medical illness affecting brain function or structure; significant neurological disorder (e.g. seizure disorder); a psychotic illness with a temporal relation to substance use or head injury; For healthy controls (HC):; diagnosis of sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome; General exclusion criteria:; DSM-IV intellectual disability; significant head injury; pregnancy or postpartum (<6 weeks after delivery or miscarriage); inability to provide informed consent; current or past co-morbidity for alcohol or psychoactive substance dependence; substance abuse other than cannabis and/or alcohol within the past one year; For EC-SCZ:; difficult falling and/or staying asleep for more than half the nights of a week, on average; sleeping less than 5 hours or more than 10 hours daily, on average.