Projects

The work is grouped into interlinked projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

SLEEPmodulation aims to develop a new sleep treatment technology for major depression, based on closed-loop auditory modulation of slow-wave sleep and the associated neuroplasticity processes.

SLEEPexpert strives to improve sleep in patients with mental disorders based on a behavioral treatment program for insomnia. We are testing the hypotheses that the intervention improves sleep and other relevant health outcomes with an Investigator Initiated Clinical Trial (IICT) funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (PI Prof. C. Nissen). An adaptation to child and adolescent psychiatry in the Swiss healthcare system is funded by Health Promotion Switzerland (PI Prof. M. Kaess, Bern). Further information and materials are freely available on the programs website. 

SLEEPwindow aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief behavioral treatment for insomnia based on bedtime restriction therapy. 

SLEEPperception explores the neural basis of sleep–wake perception and aims to develop innovative treatments for insomnia. We are testing the concepts that sleep-specific patterns of brain activity during NREM sleep and their coordination are related to sleep perception. Multimodal assessments of sleep-wake perception supports the concept of a physiological sleep-wake continuum and intact sleep-wake regulatory systems in patients with insomnia disorder. These results imply that patients with insomnia disorder, a prevalent health problem, can learn to improve their sleep and propose further empirical support for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the first-line treatment. The findings on intact sleep-wake regulatory systems are currently translated into a new project on neurotechnology augmented psychotherapy for insomnia.