Acoustic Stimulation, Sleep, and Cognitive-Emotional Processes in Young Adults with Anxiety and Depression Symptoms

Launched by MICHELLE STEPAN · Mar 24, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how sound can affect sleep and emotional well-being in young adults, specifically those aged 18 to 25 who experience high levels of anxiety and depression along with sleep problems. Participants will spend two nights in a sleep lab: one night will involve wearing a special headband that delivers calming sounds to enhance deep sleep, while the other night, no sounds will be used. After these nights, participants will take the headband home and use it for about two weeks, with half of them receiving the calming sounds each night and the other half not. Throughout the study, researchers will assess how these experiences impact participants' thinking, feelings, and overall mood.

To be eligible for this trial, participants must be between 18 and 25 years old, have normal hearing, and show signs of anxiety or depression, as well as sleep disturbances. However, those with severe mental health issues, certain medical conditions, or specific lifestyle factors, such as excessive alcohol or caffeine consumption, will not qualify. Participants can expect to undergo a series of evaluations during the study, including tasks that measure their cognitive and emotional responses. It’s a unique opportunity to explore how sound may help improve sleep and mental health.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Age 18-25. Equal numbers of men and women will be included.
• • 2. Normal hearing.
• • 3. Elevated anxiety or depression symptoms. This will be determined using the PROMIS anxiety and PROMIS depression scales. Participants with T-scores ≥ 60 (i.e., ≥ than 1 standard deviation above the mean) on either or both scales will be eligible for participation.
• • 4. Elevated sleep disturbance. This will be determined using the PROMIS sleep disturbance scale. Participants with T-scores ≥ 55 on the PROMIS sleep disturbance scale will be eligible for participation.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Presence of a severe chronic or psychiatric condition including psychosis, bipolar disorder, developmental disorders, or substance use disorder.
• • 2. Current use of psychotropic medications or medications affecting sleep/wake function, such as antidepressants, antipsychotic medications, steroids, and stimulants. Rationale: These medications may affect sleep and cognitive-emotional function.
• • 3. Substance abuse. Rationale: Substance abuse may affect sleep and cognitive-emotional function.
• • 4. Consumption of \> 14 standard alcoholic drinks per week. Rationale: excessive alcohol consumption may interfere with sleep and cognitive-emotional function.
• • 5. Consumption of \> 400mg of caffeine per day, which is roughly equivalent to 3-4 8oz cups of coffee per day.
• • 6. Drug or alcohol use \< 48 hours before the in-lab overnight sessions. Rationale: Recent drug or alcohol use could affect sleep, cognitive-emotional processes, and poses a safety risk.
• • 7. Severe insomnia or sleep apnea symptoms. Insomnia symptoms will be determined using the Insomnia Severity Index. Participants with severe insomnia (i.e., scores \> 21) will not be eligible. Sleep apnea symptoms will be determined using the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Participants with scores ≥ 3 will not be eligible. Rationale: Sleep disturbances which result in low sleep efficiency and frequent awakenings during the night may reduce the effectiveness of acoustic stimulation which targets the deepest stage of sleep (i.e., slow-wave sleep).
• • 8. Extreme bedtimes (\< 10:00pm, \> 1:00am) or wake times (\< 6:00am, \> 10:00am). Rationale: Participants with extreme bed or wake times may have difficulty falling asleep, waking up, or obtaining a sufficient amount of sleep during the in-lab overnight sessions.
• • 9. Short (\<5hrs) or long (\>9hrs) average sleep duration. Rationale: short or long sleepers may have different sleep profiles which could impact the effectiveness of the acoustic stimulation intervention.
• • 10. Uncorrected vision problems.
• • 11. Claustrophobia. Rationale: MRI safety criteria.
• • 12. Metal in body. Rationale: MRI safety criteria.
• • 13. Body Mass Index (BMI) \> 40. Rationale: MRI safety criteria.
• • 14. Pregnancy. Rationale: MRI safety criteria.
• • 15. Left handedness. Rationale: Left-handed people may have different lateralization of neural functioning which could affect the fMRI results.
• • 16. Formal vocal training and Good/Very Good at singing in tune. Rationale: The purpose of the karaoke task is to induce negative self-referential emotions via out-of-tune singing.
• • 17. Does not own a smartphone or tablet. Rationale: Participants may need to download an app (SleepMapper or Alfin) to download their sleep data from the headband device when wearing it at home.
• • 18. Inability or unwillingness to complete study procedures.
• • 19. Hairstyles that prevent access to the scalp (e.g., weave). Rationale: Polysomnography for the in-lab overnights cannot be applied with hairstyles which prevent access to the scalp to apply electrodes.