How ongoing sleep problems affect memory and thinking after a head injury
Official title: Chronic sleep disruption as prognostic biomarker of cognitive recovery following traumatic brain injury.
Funded at Philadelphia VA Medical Center · NIH-11397146 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking at whether long-term sleep problems make it harder for people with traumatic brain injury to regain memory and thinking skills.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Philadelphia VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I21RX004629-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11397146 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who have had a traumatic brain injury—especially Veterans or Service Members—with ongoing sleep difficulties or memory complaints would be the most likely candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without a head injury or whose memory problems stem from unrelated conditions (for example Alzheimer’s disease or medication effects) are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
This work looks at how sleep disruption after a traumatic brain injury changes the brain rhythms that help form and move memories. Researchers will record brain activity and sleep patterns (initially in lab models) to study sleep spindles and hippocampal ripple events that support memory consolidation. They will link those sleep signatures to changes in memory and thinking over time after injury. The aim is to find sleep-based markers that could help track or improve cognitive recovery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal sleep-based signs that predict cognitive recovery and point to ways to improve memory after brain injury.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal and human research has linked sleep rhythms to memory, but applying these specific brain-wave measures to predict recovery after TBI is a newer and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Philadelphia VA Medical Center
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ulyanova, Alexandra V. — Philadelphia VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Ulyanova, Alexandra V.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.