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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Sleep Study With Auditory Stimuli

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) · NCT02629107

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Opens the official ClinicalTrials.gov record, with the study team’s contacts. Bored Studies doesn’t enroll anyone.

Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 18–34 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Observational
Target enrollment
2378
US sites recruiting
1
Study start
January 14, 2016
Record last updated
August 28, 2026

Status re-checked against ClinicalTrials.gov within the last 12 hours.

What the study is about

Background

An electroencephalogram (EEG) measures the brain s electrical activity. EEG shows that the louder the sound needed to wake a person, the deeper the person s sleep. Researchers are using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study people during sleep so they can view brain activity in 3D. But they still need to correlate fMRI with sound thresholds, like the EEG.

Objective

To measure brain activity during sleep using fMRI and EEG.

Eligibility

Healthy people ages 18 34 who can sleep on their back for several hours.

Design

Participants will be screened online about their sleep and general health.

At a screening visit, participants will have:

Physical exam

Hearing exam

MRI scan. A strong magnetic field and radio waves take pictures of the brain. Participants will lie down on a bed that slides into the scanner, which is shaped like a cylinder.

Participants will wear an actigraph on their wrist that records their motor activity.

Participants will follow a 2-week routine. This includes regular in-to-bed and out-of-bed times and limits on alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine.

During the overnight visits, participants will have:

Female subjects will have a urine pregnancy test.

fMRI. A coil will be placed over the head. Participants will do tasks shown on a computer screen inside the scanner.

EEG. Small electrodes on the scalp will record brain waves while sleeping or doing a task in the scanner.

Participants will be asked to try to sleep while researchers collect fMRI and EEG data. Participants eyes will be monitored with a video camera. Headphones will deliver sounds to wake them up throughout the night.

...

Conditions: Normal Physiology

Eligibility criteria

Copied from the official record. The study team makes the final decision at screening.

Show full criteria
  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • able to give informed consent;
  • in good general heath;
  • between the ages of 18 and 34 years;
  • able to sleep on your back for several hours (with breaks).

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

  • have a medical condition like diabetes or uncontrolled hypertension;
  • have a psychiatric or neurologic condition like depression or stroke;
  • have ever had a seizure;
  • have a sleep disorder like insomnia or sleep apnea;
  • work night shifts;
  • have metal in your body such as pacemakers, metal prostheses, or aneurysm clips that would make MRI scanning unsafe;
  • are pregnant or nursing;
  • drink too much caffeine (6 or more cups of coffee per day or 10 or more cups of caffeinated soda per day);
  • use too much alcohol (15 or more alcoholic beverages per week for men and 8 or more alcoholic beverages per week for women);
  • use too much nicotine (nicotine use within 30 minutes of waking);
  • are afraid of enclosed spaces;
  • have known hearing problems;
  • regularly use a prescription or over-the-counter drug to help you sleep or stay awake;
  • are an employee, contractor, or volunteer of the Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Recruiting US locations

  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

    Bethesda, MD 20892

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Susan C Guttman · (301) 451-9912 · fultons@mail.nih.gov
  • Jeffrey H Duyn, Ph.D. · (301) 594-7305 · duynjeff@ninds.nih.gov
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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Sleep Study With Auditory… (NCT02629107) | Bored Studies