This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The number of persons with Alzheimer's disease (PWAD) is expected to double from 377,000 in 1995 to 959,000 in 2050. Stabilization or slowing the progression of cognitive decline could ease the suffering of PWAD by maintaining independence and delaying admission to long term care facilities. It is important that we identify modifiable factors that could lead to interventions to slow cognitive decline in PWAD. One potentially modifiable factor in Alzheimer's disease is fragmented sleep. Effects of fragmented sleep on cognition reported in non-demented individuals include impaired memory consolidation and attention. The effect of fragmented sleep on attention is of profound importance in PWAD because attention is considered to be central to acquisition of new memory. The effect of fragmented sleep on attention in PWAD has not been studied. It is important to investigate the effect of fragmented sleep on attention in PWAD because: 1) we do not know if fragmented sleep has additive adverse effects on attention in PWAD, 2) we do not know if certain aspects of fragmented sleep have differential effects on attention in PWAD, 3) understanding which aspects of sleep are most important to improve willl help future investigators design specific interventions, and 4) improved sleep may stabilize or improve cognition. The objective of this pilot study is to test the feasibility of methods to measure the impact of fragmented sleep on attention in PWAD. This pilot will provide preliminary data for a Career Development Award Proposal (K23) to be submitted October 1, 2004.
The specific aims of this study are to: 1) pilot an experimental method of inducing sleep fragmentation using tones, and 2) compare two methods of measuring attention in PWAD. The hypotheses that will be tested with the larger K23 pilot study are:1) compared to baseline measures, scores on investigator administered neurospychological tests will decrease after one night of fragmented sleep in PWAD, and 2) compared to baseline measures, scores on the Operant Test Battery will decrease after one night of fragmented sleep.
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