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Enhancing Memory Consolidation in Older Adults

NCT03657212 · Status: TERMINATED · Phase: PHASE4 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 10

Last updated 2025-02-05

Study results available
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Summary

The purpose of this research study is to understand the neural mechanisms underlying long-term memory formation in older adults. Both sleep and memory decrease with age. The investigators are interested in discovering whether these two biological changes are related. This study is specifically focused on understanding what are the critical components of sleep that facilitate memory formation and are they impaired in older adults. The investigators will be using the hypnotic zolpidem, a sleep drug that has been shown to increase a specific aspect of sleep that have been shown to correlate with memory improvement in young adults. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved zolpidem for use in certain sleep disorders, specifically in the treatment of sleeplessness (i.e., insomnia). In the current study, the investigators will examine whether zolpidem (5mg), compared with placebo, increases memory-related sleep events in older adults and test the impact of these drug-related sleep changes on post-sleep memory recall.

This is a research study because the investigators are using pharmacological interventions to investigate our hypotheses about memory consolidation. The investigators are not studying the efficacy of zolpidem to treat conditions for which the FDA has already approved it.

Conditions

  • Aging

Interventions

DRUG

Zolpidem

The research involves oral administration of zolpidem (ZOL) or placebo during sleep with EEG recording. This study will employ a within-subject, crossover design, in which every subject experiences each of the following study conditions: Nap/5mg, Nap/placebo, plus an adaptation nap to be scheduled one week prior to the first experimental day. One condition will be tested per week, with condition order counterbalanced. Each subject will have 2 visits (plus an adaptation nap), each separated by 5-7 days (although this may be extended based on participant availability) to ensure that the drug is completely eliminated from the body. The order of drug conditions will be randomized and counterbalanced.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of California, Irvine

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Sara C Mednick, PhD · University of California, Irvine

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
60 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2018-10-01
Primary Completion
2019-01-01
Completion
2019-01-01
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03657212 on ClinicalTrials.gov