Sleep learning may help stroke survivors regain arm movement
NCT ID NCT04312269
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether combining a brain-computer interface training with audio cues played during sleep can improve arm function in people who had a stroke at least 6 months ago. 70 participants will practice moving a cursor on a screen using muscle signals, then hear related sounds while they sleep to strengthen memory of the training. The goal is to see if this leads to better real-world arm use.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) during sleep combined with MyoCI training
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could offer a new way to enhance motor recovery in chronic stroke survivors without drugs or surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 70 participants, and the benefits may be small or not generalize to daily life. The intervention is complex and requires consistent sleep monitoring.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 70 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2020
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 to 100 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age at enrollment is 21 or older * Hemiparesis from first ever stroke affecting arm movement at least 6 months prior to screening * Severe to moderate motor impairment (FMA-UE of 7-40) * At least some voluntary shoulder and elbow muscle activation Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to follow instructions of the MyoCI task * Visual impairment (such as hemianopia) preventing full view of screen * Anesthesia or neglect in the affected arm, or visual hemineglect (score of 2 on the NIH Stroke Scale Extinction and Inattention subtest) * Participation in another study on the affected arm within 6 weeks of enrollment or any pharmacological study * Inability to understand or follow commands in English due to aphasia or other reason * Diffuse or multifocal infarcts in both hemispheres * Substantial arm pain preventing participation for 90 minutes a day * Spasticity treatment (pharmacological or Botox) within last 3 months * Ferromagnetic implants that are MRI incompatible
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Northwestern University
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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