How sleep and brain activity relate to symptoms in children and teens with autism
Project 1: The impact of sleep dysregulations on Autism Spectrum Disorder
This project looks at sleep patterns and daytime brain activity in children and teens with autism to see how they link to symptoms.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11176181 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child joins, researchers will use overnight home sleep studies (polysomnography), wrist actigraphy to measure sleep fragmentation, and resting EEG while awake to record brain activity. They plan to enroll about 150 children and adolescents with autism and 75 age- and sex-matched typically developing peers, ages 4–17. The team will compare sleep architecture (like REM and deep sleep), sleep fragmentation, and daytime EEG patterns and relate these to core autism symptoms, repetitive behaviors, and cognitive measures. Many tests happen at home to capture real-world sleep, with some clinic visits likely at Stanford for assessments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children and adolescents aged 4–17 with a confirmed Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis and families willing to complete overnight home sleep recordings and clinic EEG visits are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without autism, individuals older than 17, or families unable to complete home sleep recordings or clinic visits would not be eligible or likely to benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Results could identify sleep-related targets for reducing autism symptoms or guiding future sleep-focused treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Prior lab sleep studies were mixed, but the investigators' earlier home polysomnography work found altered REM and deep sleep in autism, so this builds on promising but not definitive findings.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: O'hara, Ruth M — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: O'hara, Ruth M
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 below.