# Sleep and Word Learning Over Time in Adults with Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

> **NIH NIH F31** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $30,776

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Word learning relies heavily on memory systems and processes that are routinely impaired in traumatic brain
injury (TBI) (e.g., the declarative memory system). The ability to learn new words and concepts is critical to a
person’s potential to benefit from therapy or engage in academic, vocational, and interpersonal spheres.
However, the nature and severity of word learning deficits in TBI are unknown. Examining word learning over
time following TBI is particularly critical given advances in the cognitive neuroscience literature linking sleep to
memory and learning in healthy individuals. Although approximately half of individuals with TBI report sleep
disturbance, the role of sleep in learning following TBI has not been tested. The proposed study will be the first
investigation of word learning over time after TBI and will break new ground in examining how sleep affects
learning after injury. Our approach is novel to the field and bridges theories of psycholinguistics, cognitive
neuroscience of memory, and rehabilitation in TBI. We combine well-established word learning protocols with
the novel use of actigraphy as an objective measure of sleep. Individuals in the chronic phase of moderate-
severe TBI and demographically-matched non-injured healthy comparison (NC) peers will train on a group of
novel words, then be assessed immediately on their encoding of those words. Next, they will participate in
ongoing assessment of their consolidation of the novel words over regular time intervals that do or do not
involve sleep. In Aim 1, we will test the hypothesis that word learning is impaired following TBI by contrasting
group word learning performance at an immediate post-test. In Aim 2, we will determine if individuals with TBI
get a similar sleep-learning benefit to NC peers by comparing performance at post-tests with and without an
interim period of sleep. In exploratory Aim 3, we will examine the relationship between sleep, as measured
over time via actigraphy, and word learning in the short (24 hour post-test) and long (1 week post-test) term.
Exploring sleep’s role as a mediator of learning after TBI will improve basic knowledge of the causal
relationships between TBI, sleep, and word learning. These findings will advance theoretical and clinical
knowledge about sleep, memory, and learning in TBI and will directly contribute to our long-term goal of
refining clinical management of learning deficits for improved functional outcomes after injury. Because
memory and learning are critical to an individual’s ability to benefit from intervention, understanding sleep’s role
in supporting learning could underlie future trials of both direct sleep interventions and targeted therapy
schedules for improved learning across domains. This project represents a novel direction in TBI research,
presents a unique training opportunity for the PI, and is the first step in a programmatic line of research
focused on improving basic and clinical knowle...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10234514
- **Project number:** 1F31DC019555-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily L. Morrow
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $30,776
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-01-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10234514

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10234514, Sleep and Word Learning Over Time in Adults with Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (1F31DC019555-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10234514. Licensed CC0.

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