From Experimental Neuroscience to Neuroengineering: Modulating Sleep Architecture and Deep Sleep through Motor Plasticity and Vestibular Stimulation

Sleep is a fundamental biological process supporting brain plasticity, learning, and recovery. This doctoral thesis explores sleep as a potential marker of neural plasticity, examining how motor and vestibular modulation influence sleep architecture and slow-wave activity to better understand sleep’s role in learning and rehabilitation. The first study examined the combined effects of daytime arm immobilization and intensive motor training on behavior and sleep using high-density EEG. Following sleep, participants who experienced prior immobilization showed enhanced motor performance, suggesting compensatory plastic mechanisms and identifying slow-wave activity as a sensitive marker of experience-dependent plasticity. The second study assessed the impact of vestibular stimulation delivered by the Somnomat Casa rocking bed on sleep architecture using polysomnography. Vestibular stimulation facilitated sleep onset, decreased awakenings, and increased deep non-REM sleep, including slow-wave sleep, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing sleep depth and efficiency. The third study explored the feasibility of the Somnomat Casa as a non- pharmacological intervention in a patient with Rhythmic Movement Disorder. Longitudinal recordings and subjective reports showed good tolerability, high adherence, and improved sleep stability, supporting its clinical potential. Overall, this thesis shows that motor experience and vestibular stimulation shape sleep architecture, highlighting sleep as a promising target for promoting plasticity, learning, and rehabilitation.