Experimental Manipulation of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms and the Role Played on Reward Function in Teens

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

In brief

Adolescence is a time of heightened reward sensitivity and greater impulsivity. On top of this, many teenagers experience chronic sleep deprivation and misalignment of their circadian rhythms due to biological shifts in their sleep/wake patterns paired with early school start times. Many studies find that this increases the risk for substance use (SU). However, what impact circadian rhythm and sleep disruption either together or independently have on the neuronal circuitry that controls reward and cognition, or if there are interventions that might help to modify these disruptions is unknown. Project 2 (P2) of the CARRS center will test an innovative and mechanistic model of brain circuitry that uses multi-method approaches, takes a developmental perspective, and incorporates key sleep and reward constructs.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04792697

Run by

University of Pittsburgh

People needed

115

Starts

2021-05-01

Expected to finish

2026-05-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-08

Who can join

Age: 13 and older, up to 15. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Typically enrolled in a traditional high-school with synchronous learning (in-person or online synchronous learning, but not cyber- or home-schooling) [school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic are an exception to this]
• Physically and psychiatrically healthy
• Provision of written informed consent and assent
• Additional inclusion criterion for Experimental protocol: Meets operational definition of late sleep timing (>10:50PM habitual bedtime)

You may not qualify if…

• History of alcohol, cannabis, or illicit drug use in the past month, or greater than monthly use in the past year
• Significant or unstable acute or chronic medical conditions
• Frequent headaches or migraines
• History of seizures
• Current serious psychiatric disorder (e.g., depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, eating disorder, psychotic disorder diagnosis, alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder) that would interfere with completion of study procedures
• Current syndromal sleep disorders other than insomnia and delayed sleep phase disorder
• MRI contraindications (i.e., absence of metal in the body, claustrophobia)
• Medications that increase sensitivity to blue light/photosensitizing medications, including psychiatric neuroleptic drugs, psoralen drugs, antiarrhythmic drugs, etc.
• Changes to psychotropic medication regimen in the 2 weeks prior to enrollment, and/or major changes to medications during the study protocol
• If participants have an average bedtime that is later than 3:00AM or an average wake time later than 11:00AM they may be excluded from the study
• Participants should be EXCLUDED for other sleep disorders that require ongoing treatment
• Participants should be EXCLUDED for other sleep disorders that cause significant distress or impairment, per DSM 5 criteria in the Sleep SCID.

Where it is running

• Western Psychiatric Hospital — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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