Award
National Institute of Mental Health 1R21MH141540-01
Enhancing Sleep Spindle Activity through Thalamic TI-TES: Neuromodulatory Foundations for Targeting Thalamocortical Dysfunction in Schizophrenia
Recipient
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Award Amount
$427,625.00
Ceiling
$427,625.00
Awarded
March 09, 2026
Identifier
1R21MH141540-01
The award funds research to enhance sleep spindle activity using TI-TES targeting thalamic circuits, aiming to develop neuromodulation therapies for schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
Description
This project aims to demonstrate that temporal interference transcranial electric stimulation (TI-TES) can effectively target thalamic circuits and enhance sleep spindle activity during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in healthy subjects. The research involves personalized, multipolar TI-TES combined with high-density EEG during sleep, targeting three different thalamic locations across separate nap sessions. The study will identify optimal stimulation parameters and analyze the effects on spindle subtypes, slow waves, and SO-spindle coupling. This innovative approach could pave the way for future clinical trials to restore normal spindle activity and address thalamocortical dysfunction in schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) patients.