The Role of Sleep in Mediating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Psychological and/or physical trauma can result in Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Commonly, PTSD presents with sleep disturbances. However, little is known about the contribution of sleep to the acquisition and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. The goal of this proposal is to first assess the contribution of sleep to the onset of PTSD. Using a rodent model of PTSD, we performed sleep deprivation experiments to determine if sleep loss prior to Single Prolonged Stress (SPS) trauma exposure is sufficient to exaggerate fear associated memory impairments. Experiments are ongoing, but preliminary data suggests that sleep loss prior to trauma does not enhance PTSD symptoms. Secondly, we assess the contribution of sleep to the maintenance of PTSD. For this, we are exposing animals to SPS followed by increasing sleep time via optogenetics. Experiments are ongoing, However, post-trauma-sleep restoration appears to be sufficient to alleviate fear associated memory impairments typically found following trauma exposure in rats.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2019
Accession Number
AD1088016

Entities

People

  • William M Vanderheyden

Organizations

  • Washington State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Cell Line
  • Deprivation
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Governments
  • Health Services
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Local Governments
  • Medical Personnel
  • Patent Applications
  • Professional Development
  • Sleep Deprivation
  • Students
  • Training
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.