Using High-Density EEG to Identify Sleep-Dependent Cortical Replay of Laboratory Analog Trauma and Effects on Distressing Dreams and Intrusive Memories
Abstract
Emerging published research demonstrates that sleep, dreams and memory consolidation are highly linked and that non-invasive methods using high-density EEG (HD-EEG) can study patterns of brain activity through which sleep contributes to memory. The relevance of these findings to posttraumatic stress disorder cannot be overstated. Posttraumatic stress disorder revolves around the memory of a traumatic life event that is replayed during wake and sleep in the form of intrusive memories and intrusive trauma nightmares, respectively. This subjectively experienced replay is an indicator of replay of trauma experiences at the neuronal level. Emerging evidence and our sophisticated analytic tools underscore the technological and methodological readiness to discover the neural engram, or signature, of a wake trauma experience, to identify its replay during sleep, and to examine the relationship of replay to later trauma memories and dreams. Our study goal involves foundational, neuroscience research to identify evidence of sleep-dependent cortical replay of a neural engram of pre-sleep laboratory analog trauma and analyze the relationship of detected sleep replay signals with subsequent lab trauma memories and dreams/nightmares. The primary scientific aims of our study are as follows: (1) To identify the features of the trauma engram, derived from EEG during analog-trauma film viewing and wake imagination, and based on EEG analysis in the time-voltage and time-frequency domains; (2) To identify replay of analog trauma during sleep using a machine learning model of replay detection and to examine its cooccurrence with stage 2 (N2) sleep spindles and stage 3 (N3) spindles nested with slow oscillations; (3) To examine the relationship between sleep replay and intrusive memories and nightmares in the week following the laboratory protocol.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2024
- Accession Number
- AD1227510
Entities
People
- Anne Richards
Organizations
- Northern California Institute for Research and Education