Role of Sleep Deprivation in Fear Conditioning and Extinction: Implications for Treatment of PTSD

Abstract

PTSD is a growing concern for both active duty personnel and Veterans. Fear conditioning is implicated in the development of PTSD, while successful acquisition, consolidation, and recall of extinction memory are implicated in both the natural reduction of initial PTSD symptoms and as the mechanism underlying the most successful treatment for PTSD, Prolonged Exposure. In animal models, sleep deprivation has been shown to impair extinction memory, although this has never been directly tested in humans. This project is the first to examine the role of sleep and sleep loss in acquisition, consolidation, and generalization of extinction memory in humans. The goal of the second year was to have a cumulative enrollment of 53 subjects in the protocol. This goal was successful met.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA570524

Entities

People

  • Sean P. Drummond

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Active Duty
  • Biomedical Research
  • Data Processing
  • Department Of Defense
  • Deprivation
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Extinction
  • Information Operations
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Disorders
  • Nervous System Diseases
  • Neurologic Manifestations
  • Sleep Deprivation
  • Sleep Disorders

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.