RESPITE – Restoring Spindle and Thalamocortical Efficiency

The Respite study is a sleep study held at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Oakland Pittsburgh. The goal of the study is to establish sleep spindle and slow wave abnormalities as early pathophysiological biomarkers of schizophrenia. Specifically, participants utilize a wearable, wireless EEG device that can be worn during their typical night of sleep in order to assess these sleep parameters.

Cognitive impairments in Schizophrenia (SCZ) have been linked to abnormalities in specific sleep oscillations—sleep spindles and slow waves—, in multiple studies, although most of the evidence is in chronic patients. As first steps towards translating these observations into novel interventions, in this NIMH-funded R01 grant (R01MH130376) we aim to demonstrate that: 1) spindle and slow wave deficits are present alongside impairments in cognition in early course patients (EC-SCZ); 2) sleep and cognitive defects are associated with one another; 3) spindles and slow waves can be manipulated and acutely enhanced through closed-loop auditory stimulation (CLAS) during sleep in EC-SCZ patients; and 4) CLAS-related changes in sleep oscillations are associated with cognitive changes in these patients.