Corundum Convergence Institute (CCI), a non-profit venture fueling groundbreaking research at the intersection of neuroscience and systems biology, today announced it has awarded a research grant to Giulio Tononi, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness at UW–Madison. The project will explore new methods to combat fatigue and improve the restorative nature of napping, through targeting specific brain areas with a novel brain stimulation technique.

"Napping can help combat fatigue and restore brain function, but this often depends on the type of brain activity that occurs during the nap," said Prof. Giulio Tononi, Principal Investigator. "This study is investigating the use of electrical temporal interference (TI) stimulation for targeted, short-term interventions during napping to enhance these restorative processes. By steering electrical stimulation at optimized frequencies to key brain regions, we aim to determine whether brief interventions can promote activity that helps users feel and function better following napping."

The study aims to test whether electrical energy can enhance the restorative effects of short-duration sleep. It utilizes the novel technique of electrical temporal interference stimulation. This approach is capable of noninvasively targeting precise locations, even deep in the brain, and driving activity of brain cells at specific rates. The study will measure the experience of participants following sleep, as well as their performance on intensive tasks following typical naps and TI-enhanced sessions.

The transcranial electrical stimulation method uses a unique approach that combines high-frequency electric fields to affect specific parts of the brain to counteract brain fatigue. The technique can target deep regions of the brain in order to impact key brain circuits. The anticipation is that TI-enhanced napping may prove more restorative than traditional short sleep events.

"The biological and social costs of fatigue are a well-known problem with few effective solutions in modern life," said Josh Schulman, PhD, Chief Operating Officer for CCI and Chief Scientist for Corundum Neuroscience. "This study builds on decades of groundbreaking theory and science, from molecular to systems levels, coming from Prof. Tononi's laboratory and research partners. We believe it can help address this problem and lay the groundwork for a wide variety of applications to improve brain function."