Sleep and Emotion Processing in Childhood

Sleep and the Neural Basis of Emotion Processing in Childhood

This research project will examine whether experimental sleep extension in children alters the neural and behavioral mechanisms by which short sleep is a risk factor for emotional/behavioral problems. Children ages 5.0-5.9 years with chronic insufficient sleep (≤9 h/night for ≥6 months) will be randomized to either a sleep Extension or to an active Control group. Extension group parents will participate in a 1-month individualized behavioral sleep intervention to promote targeted sleep duration improvements before beginning a 2-week sleep Extension schedule (8 week protocol). Brain and behavioral assessments will occur at Baseline and post sleep Extension.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sleep; Emotions
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Sleep Health in Preschoolers; Behavioral: Health and Safety Intervention

Detailed Description

Research on processes influencing the development of affective brain circuits is critical to elucidating the neurobiological substrates of psychiatric disorders. Mechanistic evidence from adults showing a sleep-dependent functional "disconnect" between brain regions central to adaptive emotion processing (i.e., regulation and expression) suggests that sleep loss is a fundamental target. Similar data in young children, however, do not exist. Early childhood is a sensitive period in the maturation of sleep and emotion processing and also a time when disturbance in both domains is commonly first detected. Further, epidemiological findings reveal that insufficient sleep in childhood is prevalent, associated with concurrent emotional problems, and predicts later mood and attentional disorders. Although the investigator's recent experimental findings indicate that acute sleep loss results in non-adaptive emotion processing in young children, the neural systems underlying such sleep-dependent effects are not known. Also, the vast majority of basic research on sleep and affective substrates has utilized sleep deprivation or sleep restriction protocols. The investigators will instead employ sleep extension in chronically sleep-restricted children, a highly translatable approach with significant public health implications.

This research project will examine whether experimental sleep extension in children alters the neural and behavioral mechanisms by which short sleep is a risk factor for emotional/behavioral problems. Children ages 5.0-5.9 years with chronic insufficient sleep (≤9 h/night for ≥6 months) will be randomized to either a sleep Extension or to an active Control group. Extension group parents will participate in a 1-month individualized behavioral sleep intervention to promote targeted sleep duration improvements before beginning a 2-week sleep Extension schedule (8 week protocol). Brain and behavioral assessments will occur at Baseline and post sleep Extension.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 23
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 4 years to 6 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

4.0-6.9 years Reportedly obtain ≤9 h of sleep/night for ≥6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

Nocturnal sleep disturbance determined by clinical cut-offs on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire Medications Developmental disabilities Chronic medical conditions Low-birth weight or pre-term term delivery Family history of psychiatric disorders Living at altitude <1 year Metal implants or Claustrophobia

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Sleep Extension; 1-month educational and problem solving behavioral intervention about sleep.	Behavioral: Sleep Health in Preschoolers; In-person, family-based behavioral intervention
Active Comparator: Health and Safety; 1-month educational and problem solving behavioral intervention about health and safety.	Behavioral: Health and Safety Intervention; In-person, family-based behavioral intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
MRI/fMRI	Brain Scans to assess neural substrates of emotion	Change from Baseline at 10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Emotion Regulation Checklist	Parent report questionnaire to assess emotion regulation	Change from Baseline at 10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Boulder

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 4, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 30, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): November 6, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 6, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 1, 2022
• Last Verified: June 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Children
• Other Study ID Numbers: 0214.04.0421B

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No