Treating Insomnia in Mild Cognitive Impairment

This project will test a novel intervention for insomnia in persons with MCI that combines two weeks of daily repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation with cognitive behavioral therapy.

Many persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) experience symptoms of insomnia, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, which can speed cognitive decline and worsen quality of life. We propose to test a novel intervention to improve sleep and cognition in persons with MCI that combines noninvasive neuromodulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation with an Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia program. If successful, this approach will meet the need for an efficacious, non-pharmacologic, and accessible therapy for persons with MCI and insomnia.

This is a multidisciplinary study that combines approaches from behavioral medicine, cognitive neurology, and neuropsychiatry.
This study builds on existing evidence of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and cognitive behavioral therapy as separate interventions for improving sleep quality and cognition in persons with mild cognitive impairment by testing their combined effectiveness.

This study will inform on the relationship between brain plasticity and the effectiveness of the intervention.

The results from this study will directly lead to a larger sham-controlled randomized clinical trial that will test additional conditions and outcomes. If ultimately successful, this approach could be made widely accessible by coupling a fully-automated, Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia program with the rapidly growing number of clinical centers offering outpatient repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy.