Medications to understand and improve sleep in children with autism
Project 2: Pharmacological Probing of Sleep Physiology in Autism
Looks at whether medicines that affect sleep can change sleep patterns and help behavior and thinking in children and adolescents with autism.
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-11176187 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will measure sleep in children and adolescents with autism using overnight sleep recordings, wearable sleep trackers, and parent questionnaires. They will give medicines that act on sleep-related brain systems (for example drugs that affect GABA signaling) under medical supervision to see how sleep stages and quality change. They will also track behavior, repetitive behaviors, and social communication to see whether better sleep links with improvements in these areas. Participation may include overnight visits, medication dosing, and follow-up assessments to monitor safety and effects.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who have sleep difficulties may be eligible.
Not a fit: People without autism, without sleep problems, or those for whom sleep medications are unsafe may not benefit or qualify.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to medicine-based ways to improve sleep and possibly reduce sleep-related worsening of autism behaviors.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has shown sleep differences in autism and some sleep medicines can change sleep, but applying targeted pharmacology to improve core autism features is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hardan, Antonio — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Hardan, Antonio
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.