---
title: Brain stimulation improves sleep quality
nct_id: NCT07636720
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07636720"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07636720"
last_fetched: "2026-06-12T14:04:10.123Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Brain stimulation improves sleep quality

**Goal (in five words):** Brain stimulation improves sleep quality

**Official Title:** Sensing in Sleep and Deep Brain Stimulation

**Trial ID:** [NCT07636720](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07636720)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- **Target Enrollment:** 20 participants
- **Start Date:** 2026-02-27
- **Completion Date:** 2028-02-01
- **Conditions:** Parkinson's Disease and Parkinsonism, Dyssomnia
- **Interventions:** Polysomnography ON stimulation then OFF, Polysomnography OFF stimulation then ON
- **Intervention Types:** DEVICE

## Summary For Families

The goal is to understand how deep brain stimulation affects sleep problems in people with Parkinson's, including poor sleep quality, frequent awakenings, and acting-out dreams. Participants who already have the Percept RC deep brain stimulation device will spend two nights in a sleep lab, one with stimulation on and one with it off, while the device’s built-in sensing tools called Brainsense record brain signals from the areas where the contacts sit and those recordings are matched with standard overnight sleep monitoring. The study is looking for adults 40 to 80 with a Parkinson’s diagnosis who already have that implanted device, who score 23 or higher on a brief cognitive test, are willing to stop sleep sedatives for a short washout and turn the stimulator off for one night, and who do not have untreated sleep apnea, dementia, other major brain disorders, recent changes in Parkinson’s medications, or severe heart disease.

## What This Actually Involves

**Placebo** _(From the protocol)_: This is a crossover trial: instead of staying in one group, you move through a sequence of assignments, so you receive the active treatment during at least one period of the study. Ask the coordinator for the exact sequence and how long each phase lasts.

**Visits** _(From the protocol)_: You will sleep overnight in the study sleep lab for two nights.
  > "For this study, participants will be sleeping overnight in the study sleep lab for two nights."

**Procedures** _(From the protocol)_:
- Brain surgery / implanted device — Invasive
  > "Participants diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease who have subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation as a primary target for their condition"

**Washout** _(From the protocol)_: You must be willing to stop sleep hypnotics such as benzodiazepines and Ambien with a 3 day washout period.
  > "Be willing to stop any sleep hypnotics such as benzodiazepines and Ambien, with a 3 day washout period."

**Travel & reimbursement** _(Ask the coordinator)_: Ask the coordinator whether travel, parking, or your time is reimbursed or compensated, and what is covered.

_Fields marked “From the protocol” come from the trial's registry record or quoted protocol text. Fields marked “Ask the coordinator” are not reliably available and should be confirmed directly._

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 40 Years
- **Maximum age:** 80 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

1. Ability of subject to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.
2. Males and females; Age 40-80
3. Subjects with the diagnosis of idiopathic PD consistent with the United Kingdom Parkinson Disease society brain bank criteria, or documented diagnosis of Parkinson Disease who have a Deep Brain Implant, Percept RC device to subthalamic nucleus (STN) or Globus pallidus internus (GPi).
4. Willingness to adhere to the PSG regimen and turn DBS off for one night.
5. A score of ≥23 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
6. Be willing to stop any sleep hypnotics such as benzodiazepines and Ambien, with a 3 day washout period.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. History of severe cardiovascular disease, untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
2. History of other neurological disorders affecting the central nervous system such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, tumors, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or muscle disease such as muscular dystrophy, myopathy.
3. History of Dementia.
4. Report dopaminergic medication changes in the past month.
```

## Locations (1)

- The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio - Brain Health Center, San Antonio, Texas, United States _(29.4241, -98.4936)_
  - Omalys Biggs Rodriguez — (CONTACT) — 210-450-8456 — biggsrodrigu@uthscsa.edu
  - Eleni O Vaou, MD — (CONTACT) — 210-450 8048 — vaou@uthscsa.edu

## Central Contacts

- Eleni O Vaou, MD — (CONTACT) — 210 450 8048 — vaou@uthscsa.edu
- Omalys Biggs Rodriguez — (CONTACT) — 210-450-7547 — biggsrodrigu@uthscsa.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07636720*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07636720*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07636720*