Exploring how naps affect motor skill learning

Mechanisms Underlying the Beneficial Effects of Naps on Motor Learning

This study is testing how taking naps can help young adults, older adults, and stroke patients improve their motor skills and remember what they've learned.

Quick facts

• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 199 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years to 80 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC) (nih)
• Locations: 1 site (Bethesda, Maryland)
• Trial ID: NCT04312126 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This observational study investigates the role of daytime naps in the consolidation of motor skills among three groups: young healthy adults, older healthy adults, and patients with chronic stroke. Participants will undergo screening, including medical and neurological evaluations, and will have brain imaging conducted using MRI and MEG. The study aims to assess how neural replay during wakeful rest and sleep contributes to motor skill retention and to identify differences in replay rates across the participant groups.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates include English-speaking adults aged 18 and older who have experienced a stroke at least six months prior or healthy individuals aged 18-35 and 50-80.

Not a fit: Patients with severe neurological or psychological conditions, or those who cannot undergo MRI or MEG, may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this study could enhance rehabilitation strategies for stroke patients by optimizing sleep patterns to improve motor skill recovery.

How similar studies have performed: While some studies have suggested that naps can improve motor performance, this specific approach of examining neural replay during wakeful rest and sleep in stroke patients is relatively novel.

Eligibility criteria

* HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS:

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

* Age 18-35 (Arm 1) or 50-80 (Arms 2).
* English speaking.
* Clear right-hand dominance (\>74 on Edinburgh Handedness Inventory).
* Normal neurological examination as determined by the screening clinician.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

* HCPS affiliated NIH staff (i.e. - staff from our section).
* Current pregnancy.
* Contraindications for MRI or MEG.
* Use of sleep medications within 24 hours of Experimental Session participation.
* Severe or progressive neurological, psychological or medical condition as determined by the screening clinician.

STROKE PATIENTS:

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

* Age 18 or older
* Willing and able to provide consent
* Experienced a stroke 6 months ago or more that affected at least one of the upper extremities at time of stroke diagnosis
* Ability to perform the study task as assessed during physical examination
* English-speaking

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

* HCPS-affiliated NIH staff (i.e. - staff from our section).
* Current pregnancy
* History of large stroke lesions in brainstem or cerebellum as determined by screening clinician
* Severe or progressive neurological disorder other than stroke (e.g., Parkinson s disease or multiple sclerosis) as determined by the screening clinician
* Uncontrolled heart, lung, kidney, gastrointestinal, metabolic, psychiatric, sleep, or endocrine disorders as determined by the screening clinician
* Contraindications for MRI or MEG.

Where this trial is running

Bethesda, Maryland

• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center — Bethesda, Maryland, United States (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Leonardo G Cohen, M.D. — National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
• Study coordinator: Tasneem F Malik, C.R.N.P.

Conditions: Stroke, Motor Skill, Sleep, Neural Replay, Natural History