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Journal Article Randomized Controlled Trial Ppublish 6 citations

PubMed: 38744792 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01195-z

Multi-night acoustic stimulation is associated with better sleep, amyloid dynamics, and memory in older adults with cognitive impairment.

Geroscience 46(6):6157-6172

Authors: Céline J Zeller, Marina Wunderlin, Korian Wicki, Charlotte E Teunissen, Christoph Nissen, Marc A Züst, Stefan Klöppel

Affiliations

  • University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000, Bern 60, Switzerland.
  • Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
  • University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000, Bern 60, Switzerland. Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Neurochemistry Laboratory, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), 1201, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, 1201, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000, Bern 60, Switzerland.

Abstract

Sleep is a potential early, modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. Impaired slow wave sleep (SWS) is pronounced in individuals with cognitive impairment (CI). Cognitive decline and impairments of SWS are bi-directionally linked in a vicious cycle. SWS can be enhanced non-invasively using phase-locked acoustic stimulation (PLAS), potentially breaking this vicious cycle. Eighteen healthy older adults (HC, age mean±sd, 68.3 ± 5.1) and 16 older adults (age mean±sd, 71.9 ± 3.9) with CI (Montreal Cognitive Assessment ≤ 25) underwent one baseline (sham-PLAS) night and three consecutive stimulation nights (real-PLAS). EEG responses and blood-plasma amyloid beta Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio were measured pre- and post-intervention, as was episodic memory. The latter was again evaluated 1 week and 3 months after the intervention. In both groups, PLAS induced a significant electrophysiological response in both voltage- and time-frequency analyses, and memory performance improved in association with the magnitude of this response. In the CI group, both electrophysiological and associated memory effects were delayed compared to the healthy group. After 3 intervention nights, electrophysiological response to PLAS was no longer different between CI and HC groups. Only in the CI sample, stronger electrophysiological responses were significantly associated with improving post-intervention Aβ42/Aβ40 ratios. PLAS seems to improve SWS electrophysiology, memory, and amyloid dynamics in older adults with CI. However, effects on memory require more time to unfold compared to healthy older adults. This indicates that PLAS may become a potential tool to ameliorate cognitive decline, but longer interventions are necessary to compensate for declining brain integrity. This study was pre-registered (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04277104).

MeSH

Acoustics, Aging, Sleep, Multiple Chronic Conditions, Cognitive Dysfunction, Aged, Acoustic Stimulation, Cognition Disorders, Amyloid, Memory, Plasma

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