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Sayk C, Saftien S, Koch N, Ngo HVV, Junghanns K, Wilhelm I. Cortical hyperarousal in individuals with frequent nightmares. J Sleep Res 2024; 33:e14003. [PMID: 37688512 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.14003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Nightmares are common among the general population and psychiatric patients and have been associated with signs of nocturnal arousal such as increased heart rate or increased high-frequency electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. However, it is still unclear, whether these characteristics are more of a trait occurring in people with frequent nightmares or rather indicators of the nightmare state. We compared participants with frequent nightmares (NM group; n = 30) and healthy controls (controls; n = 27) who spent 4 nights in the sleep laboratory over the course of 8 weeks. The NM group received six sessions of imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT), the 'gold standard' of cognitive-behavioural therapy for nightmares, between the second and the third night. Sleep architecture and spectral power were compared between groups, and between nights of nightmare occurrence and nights without nightmare occurrence in the NM group. Additionally, changes before and after therapy were recorded. The NM group showed increased beta (16.25-31 Hz) and low gamma (31.25-35 Hz) power during the entire night compared to the controls, but not when comparing nights of nightmare occurrence to those without. Moreover, low gamma activity in rapid eye movement sleep was reduced after therapy in the NM group. Our findings indicate, cortical hyperarousal is more of a trait in people with frequent nightmares within a network of other symptoms, but also malleable by therapy. This is not only a new finding for IRT but could also lead to improved treatment options in the future that directly target high-frequency EEG activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Sayk
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Sophia Saftien
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Nicole Koch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Hong-Viet V Ngo
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center for Brain, Behaviour and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Klaus Junghanns
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Ines Wilhelm
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Mallett R, Jameson JT, Paller KA, Markwald RR, Russell DW. Clinical nightmare frequency and its association with reduced physical health during military operations. Sleep 2023; 46:zsad214. [PMID: 37632739 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsad214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Remington Mallett
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Jason T Jameson
- Sleep, Tactical Efficiency, and Endurance Laboratory, Warfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, USA
- Leidos, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ken A Paller
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Rachel R Markwald
- Sleep, Tactical Efficiency, and Endurance Laboratory, Warfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Dale W Russell
- Commander, US Naval Surface Forces, Research, Assessment and Development Directorate, Coronado, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Fattal D, Platti N, Hester S, Wendt L. Vivid dreams are associated with a high percentage of REM sleep: a prospective study in veterans. J Clin Sleep Med 2023; 19:1661-1668. [PMID: 37128719 PMCID: PMC10476037 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.10642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES Vivid dreams are dreams that feel real or are associated with dream enactment behavior. They are prevalent in veterans, especially in those with psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorders. Such psychiatric disorders have known association with abnormalities in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Vivid dreams are also described in neurological conditions, such Lewy body dementias, which are also associated with REM sleep abnormality. Although vivid dreams occur in neuropsychiatric disorders that have REM sleep abnormalities, there are no studies that have directly investigated an association between vivid dreams and REM sleep. We sought to study vivid dreams and REM sleep in veterans. METHODS Veterans undergoing polysomnography at our hospital were invited to enroll. Participants completed a dream-related questionnaire the morning after their polysomnography. RESULTS We prospectively enrolled 505 veterans. After a night in the sleep laboratory, 196 of 504 (39%) reported experiencing a dream, and, of those, 117 of 190 (62%) described their dream as vivid. Discrepancies in patient totals are secondary to missing questionnaire data. Our novel finding is that participants with a high percentage of REM sleep (above 25%) were more than twice likely to report a vivid dream than participants with a lower percentage of REM sleep (P < .0001). Nonvivid dreams were not associated with a high percentage of REM sleep. CONCLUSIONS Vivid dreams are associated with a high percentage of REM sleep. Further research into the role of REM sleep abnormalities in vivid dreams may help to advance understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders. CITATION Fattal D, Platti N, Hester S, Wendt L. Vivid dreams are associated with a high percentage of REM sleep: a prospective study in veterans. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(9):1661-1668.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deema Fattal
- Neurology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- Iowa City VA Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Nicole Platti
- University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa
| | | | - Linder Wendt
- Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
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Wirian YB, Jiang Y, Cerel-Suhl S, Suhl J, Cheng Q. Exploring the Link Between Brain Waves and Sleep Patterns with Deep Learning Manifold Alignment. THE 4TH JOINT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DEEP LEARNING, BIG DATA AND BLOCKCHAIN (DBB 2023). JOINT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DEEP LEARNING, BIG DATA AND BLOCKCHAIN (4TH : 2023 : MARRAKECH, MOROCCO ; ONLINE) 2023; 768:81-90. [PMID: 38939181 PMCID: PMC11210370 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-42317-8_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Medical data are often multi-modal, which are collected from different sources with different formats, such as text, images, and audio. They have some intrinsic connections in meaning and semantics while manifesting disparate appearances. Polysomnography (PSG) datasets are multi-modal data that include hypnogram, electrocardiogram (ECG), and electroencephalogram (EEG). It is hard to measure the associations between different modalities. Previous studies have used PSG datasets to study the relationship between sleep disorders and quality and sleep architecture. We leveraged a new method of deep learning manifold alignment to explore the relationship between sleep architecture and EEG features. Our analysis results agreed with the results of previous studies that used PSG datasets to diagnose different sleep disorders and monitor sleep quality in different populations. The method could effectively find the associations between sleep architecture and EEG datasets, which are important for understanding the changes in sleep stages and brain activity. On the other hand, the Spearman correlation method, which is a common statistical technique, could not find the correlations between these datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yang Jiang
- Behavioral Science Department, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Sylvia Cerel-Suhl
- Sleep Center, Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40511, USA
| | - Jeremiah Suhl
- Sleep Center, Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40511, USA
| | - Qiang Cheng
- Computer Science Department, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
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Yuksel C, Denis D, Coleman J, Oh A, Cox R, Morgan A, Sato E, Stickgold R. Emotional memories are enhanced when reactivated in slow wave sleep, but impaired when reactivated in REM. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.01.530661. [PMID: 36909630 PMCID: PMC10002730 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.01.530661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Sleep supports memory consolidation. However, it is not completely clear how different sleep stages contribute to this process. While rapid eye movement sleep (REM) has been traditionally implicated in the processing of emotionally charged material, recent studies indicate a role for slow wave sleep (SWS) in strengthening the memories of emotional stimuli. Here, to directly examine which sleep stage is primarily involved in emotional memory consolidation, we used targeted memory reactivation (TMR) in REM and SWS during a daytime nap. We also examined neural oscillations associated with TMR-related changes in memory. Contrary to our hypothesis, reactivation of emotional stimuli during REM led to impaired memory. Meanwhile, reactivation of emotional stimuli in SWS improved memory and was strongly correlated with the product of times spent in REM and SWS (%SWS Ã- %REM). When this variable was taken into account, reactivation significantly enhanced memory, with larger reactivation benefits compared to reactivation in REM. Notably, sleep spindle activity was modulated by emotional valence, and delta/theta activity was correlated with the memory benefit for both emotional and neutral items. Finally, we found no evidence that emotional memories benefited from TMR more than did neutral ones. Our results provide direct evidence for a complementary role of both REM and SWS in emotional memory consolidation, and suggest that REM may separately facilitate forgetting. In addition, our findings expand upon recent evidence indicating a link between sleep spindles and emotional processing.
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Ukhinov EB, Madaeva IM, Berdina ON, Rychkova LV, Kolesnikova LI, Kolesnikov SI. Features of the EEG Pattern of Sleep Spindles and Its Diagnostic Significance in Ontogeny. Bull Exp Biol Med 2022; 173:399-408. [DOI: 10.1007/s10517-022-05557-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Bogdány T, Perakakis P, Bódizs R, Simor P. The heartbeat evoked potential is a questionable biomarker in nightmare disorder: A replication study. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 33:102933. [PMID: 34990964 PMCID: PMC8743245 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Perogamvros et al. (2013) examined heart beat evoked potential (HEP) in nightmare sufferers. Increased HEP was proposed to be a robust biomarker in nightmare disorder. We aimed to replicate the original study in two separate and larger databases. We did not confirm the original finding showing differential HEP in REM sleep. Our data cast doubts on the utility of HEP as a biomarker in nightmare disorder.
Frequent nightmares are highly prevalent and constitute a risk factor for a wide range of psychopathological conditions. Despite its prevalence and clinical relevance however, the pathophysiological mechanisms of nightmares are poorly understood. A recent study (Perogamvros et, al 2019) examined the heart beat evoked potential (HEP) in a small group of nightmare sufferers (N = 11) and matched healthy controls (N = 11) and observed markedly different (Hedges’ g = 1.42 [0.62–2.22]) HEP response across the groups during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. Moreover, the HEP correlated with depression scores in the nightmare group only. The authors concluded that the HEP in REM sleep could be used as a trait-like biomarker reflecting pathological emotional-and sleep regulation in nightmare disorder. To replicate the above study, we performed the same analyses of HEPs in two separate, and larger databases comprising the polysomnographic recordings of nightmare sufferers and matched controls (NStudy 1 = 39 ; NStudy 2 = 41). In contrast to the original findings, we did not observe significant differences in HEP across the two groups in either of the two databases. Moreover, we found no associations between depression scores and HEP amplitudes in the relevant spatiotemporal cluster. Our data cast doubts on the utility of HEP as a biomarker in the diagnostic and treatment procedures of nightmare disorder and suggests that the interpretation of HEP as a marker of impaired arousal and emotional processing during REM sleep is premature and requires further validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamás Bogdány
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; Institute of Psychology, ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Pandelis Perakakis
- Department of Social, Work, and Differential Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
| | - Róbert Bódizs
- Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; National Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Simor
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; UR2NF, Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit at CRCN - Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences and UNI - ULB Neurosciences Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
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Benbir Şenel G, Aydın Ö, Tanrıöver Aydın E, Bayar MR, Karadeniz D. Changes in sleep structure and sleep spindles are associated with the neuropsychiatric profile in paradoxical insomnia. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 168:27-32. [PMID: 34331959 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.07.626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIM Sleep spindles have an important role in the pathophysiology and perception of sleep. We aimed to investigate the link between sleep spindles and microstructural architecture of sleep in regard to psychiatric characteristics in paradoxical insomnia. METHOD A total of 40 participants (20 with paradoxical insomnia, 20 healthy controls) were included in the study. All participants were evaluated by somnologists and undergone a full-night polysomnography at sleep laboratory. In addition, psychiatric interview was made by the same psychiatrist, and questionnaires were performed to assess the dimensions of the personality such as the neuroticism or extroversion (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, EPQR-A); to evaluate the tendency to exaggerate somatic perceptions (Somatosensory Amplification Scale, SSAS), somatic parts of dissociation (Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire, SDQ-20), and somatization (Somatization Scale, SS); to measure participants' feelings about their health and disease anxiety (Health Anxiety Inventory, HAI-18), and the level of uncontrollable and persistent anxiety (Penn State Worry Questionnaire, PSWQ); to investigate the tendency to ruminative thinking (Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire, RTSQ), alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale, TAS-20); and to define the presence and the severity of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI). RESULTS The duration and frequency of the sleep spindles were similar between two groups, while the density was significantly decreased in paradoxical insomnia. The duration of sleep spindles, on the other hand, showed positive correlations with the extroversion dimension scores of EPQR-A and PSWQ scores. DISCUSSION Sleep protective mechanisms are disturbed in paradoxical insomnia as shown by the lower density of sleep spindles. In addition, fast spindle activity is associated with the personality traits, characterized by an increase in the expression of feelings and the level of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gülçin Benbir Şenel
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Sleep and Disorders Unit, Istanbul 34098, Turkey
| | - Ömer Aydın
- Bakirkoy Prof Mazhar Osman Training and Research Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul 34147, Turkey.
| | - Ezgi Tanrıöver Aydın
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul 34098, Turkey
| | - Mahmut Reha Bayar
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul 34098, Turkey
| | - Derya Karadeniz
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Sleep and Disorders Unit, Istanbul 34098, Turkey
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Picard-Deland C, Aumont T, Samson-Richer A, Paquette T, Nielsen T. Whole-body procedural learning benefits from targeted memory reactivation in REM sleep and task-related dreaming. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 183:107460. [PMID: 34015442 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Sleep facilitates memory consolidation through offline reactivations of memory traces. Dreaming may play a role in memory improvement and may reflect these memory reactivations. To experimentally address this question, we used targeted memory reactivation (TMR), i.e., application, during sleep, of a stimulus that was previously associated with learning, to assess whether it influences task-related dream imagery (or task-dream reactivations). Specifically, we asked if TMR or task-dream reactivations in either slow-wave (SWS) or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep benefit whole-body procedural learning. Healthy participants completed a virtual reality (VR) flying task prior to and following a morning nap or rest period during which task-associated tones were readministered in either SWS, REM sleep, wake or not at all. Findings indicate that learning benefits most from TMR when applied in REM sleep compared to a Control-sleep group. REM dreams that reactivated kinesthetic elements of the VR task (e.g., flying, accelerating) were also associated with higher improvement on the task than were dreams that reactivated visual elements (e.g., landscapes) or that had no reactivations. TMR did not itself influence dream content but its effects on performance were greater when coexisting with task-dream reactivations in REM sleep. Findings may help explain the mechanistic relationships between dream and memory reactivations and may contribute to the development of sleep-based methods to optimize complex skill learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Picard-Deland
- Dream & Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM - Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Tomy Aumont
- Dream & Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM - Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Arnaud Samson-Richer
- Dream & Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM - Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Tyna Paquette
- Dream & Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM - Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Tore Nielsen
- Dream & Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM - Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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10
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Marquis LP, Julien SH, Daneault V, Blanchette-Carrière C, Paquette T, Carr M, Soucy JP, Montplaisir J, Nielsen T. Local Neuronal Synchronization in Frequent Nightmare Recallers and Healthy Controls: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:645255. [PMID: 33815047 PMCID: PMC8012764 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.645255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Nightmares are highly dysphoric dreams that are well-remembered upon awakening. Frequent nightmares have been associated with psychopathology and emotional dysregulation, yet their neural mechanisms remain largely unknown. Our neurocognitive model posits that nightmares reflect dysfunction in a limbic-prefrontal circuit comprising medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices, hippocampus, and amygdala. However, there is a paucity of studies that used brain imaging to directly test the neural correlates of nightmares. One such study compared the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging blood-oxygen level-dependent signals between frequent nightmare recallers and controls. The main results were greater regional homogeneity in the left anterior cingulate cortex and right inferior parietal lobule for the nightmare recallers than for the controls. In the present study, we aimed to document the ReHo correlates of frequent nightmares using several nightmare severity measures. We acquired resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 18 frequent nightmare recallers aged 18-35 (3 males and 15 females) and 18 age- and sex-matched controls, as well as retrospective and prospective disturbed dreaming frequency estimates and scores on the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire. While there were inconsistent results for our different analyses (group comparisons, correlational analyses for frequency estimates/Nightmare Distress scores), our results suggest that nightmares are associated with altered ReHo in frontal (medial prefrontal and inferior frontal), parietal, temporal and occipital regions, as well as some subcortical regions (thalamus). We also found a positive correlation between retrospective disturbed dreaming frequency estimates and ReHo values in the hippocampus. These findings are mostly in line with a recent SPECT study from our laboratory. Our results point to the possibility that a variety of regions, including but not limited to the limbic-prefrontal circuit of our neurocognitive model, contribute to nightmare formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis-Philippe Marquis
- Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sarah-Hélène Julien
- Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Véronique Daneault
- Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Cloé Blanchette-Carrière
- Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Tyna Paquette
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Michelle Carr
- Department of Psychiatry, Sleep & Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States
| | | | - Jacques Montplaisir
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Tore Nielsen
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Wang C, Laxminarayan S, Ramakrishnan S, Dovzhenok A, Cashmere JD, Germain A, Reifman J. Increased oscillatory frequency of sleep spindles in combat-exposed veteran men with post-traumatic stress disorder. Sleep 2020; 43:5814942. [PMID: 32239159 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES Sleep disturbances are core symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but reliable sleep markers of PTSD have yet to be identified. Sleep spindles are important brain waves associated with sleep protection and sleep-dependent memory consolidation. The present study tested whether sleep spindles are altered in individuals with PTSD and whether the findings are reproducible across nights and subsamples of the study. METHODS Seventy-eight combat-exposed veteran men with (n = 31) and without (n = 47) PTSD completed two consecutive nights of high-density EEG recordings in a laboratory. We identified slow (10-13 Hz) and fast (13-16 Hz) sleep spindles during N2 and N3 sleep stages and performed topographical analyses of spindle parameters (amplitude, duration, oscillatory frequency, and density) on both nights. To assess reproducibility, we used the first 47 consecutive participants (18 with PTSD) for initial discovery and the remaining 31 participants (13 with PTSD) for replication assessment. RESULTS In the discovery analysis, compared to non-PTSD participants, PTSD participants exhibited (1) higher slow-spindle oscillatory frequency over the antero-frontal regions on both nights and (2) higher fast-spindle oscillatory frequency over the centro-parietal regions on the second night. The first finding was preserved in the replication analysis. We found no significant group differences in the amplitude, duration, or density of slow or fast spindles. CONCLUSIONS The elevated spindle oscillatory frequency in PTSD may indicate a deficient sensory-gating mechanism responsible for preserving sleep continuity. Our findings, if independently validated, may assist in the development of sleep-focused PTSD diagnostics and interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Wang
- Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, Fort Detrick, MD.,The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD
| | - Srinivas Laxminarayan
- Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, Fort Detrick, MD.,The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD
| | - Sridhar Ramakrishnan
- Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, Fort Detrick, MD.,The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD
| | - Andrey Dovzhenok
- Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, Fort Detrick, MD.,The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD
| | - J David Cashmere
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Anne Germain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Jaques Reifman
- Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, Fort Detrick, MD
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12
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Unaltered EEG spectral power and functional connectivity in REM microstates in frequent nightmare recallers: are nightmares really a REM parasomnia? Sleep Med 2020; 75:192-200. [PMID: 32858360 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Frequent nightmares show signs of hyperarousal in NREM sleep. Nevertheless, idiopathic nightmare disorder is considered a REM parasomnia, but the pathophysiology of REM sleep in relation to frequent nightmares is controversial. Cortical oscillatory activity in REM sleep is largely modulated by phasic and tonic REM periods and seems to be linked to different functions and dysfunctions of REM sleep. Here, we examined cortical activity and functional synchronization in frequent nightmare recallers and healthy controls, during phasic and tonic REM. METHODS Frequent nightmare recallers (N = 22) and healthy controls (N = 22) matched for high dream recall spent two nights in the laboratory. Phasic and tonic REM periods from the second nights' recordings were selected to examine differences in EEG spectral power and weighted phase lag index (WPLI) across groups and REM states. RESULTS Phasic REM showed increased power and synchronization in delta and gamma frequency bands, whereas tonic REM featured increased power and synchronization in the alpha and beta bands. In the theta band, power was higher during tonic, and synchronization was higher during phasic REM sleep. No differences across nightmare and control participants or patterns representing interactions between the groups and REM microstates emerged. CONCLUSIONS Our findings do not support the idea that abnormal REM sleep power and synchronization play a role in the pathophysiology of frequent nightmares. Altered REM sleep in nightmare disorder could have been confounded with comorbid pathologies and increased dream recall, or might be linked to more specific state factors (nightmare episodes).
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Sleep spindles and psychopathology. Sleep Med 2020; 77:365-366. [PMID: 32564918 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Nielsen T, Carr M, Picard-Deland C, Marquis LP, Saint-Onge K, Blanchette-Carrière C, Paquette T. Early childhood adversity associations with nightmare severity and sleep spindles. Sleep Med 2019; 56:57-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2019.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Perogamvros L, Park HD, Bayer L, Perrault AA, Blanke O, Schwartz S. Increased heartbeat-evoked potential during REM sleep in nightmare disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 22:101701. [PMID: 30739843 PMCID: PMC6370851 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Nightmares are characterized by the experience of strong negative emotions occurring mainly during REM sleep. Some people suffer from nightmare disorder, which is defined by the repeated occurrence of nightmares and by significant distress in wakefulness. Yet, whether frequent nightmares relate to a general increase in emotional reactivity or arousal during sleep remains unclear. To address this question, we recorded heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs) during wakefulness, NREM and REM sleep in patients with nightmare disorder and healthy participants. The HEP represents a cortical (EEG) response to the heartbeat and indexes brain-body interactions, such as interoceptive processing and intrinsic levels of arousal. HEP amplitude is typically increased during states of high emotional arousal and motivation, and is decreased in depression. Here we compared the amplitude of HEPs between nightmare patients and healthy controls separately during AWAKE, NREM, REM periods, and found higher HEP amplitude in nightmare patients compared to healthy controls over a cluster of frontal regions only during REM sleep. This effect was not paralleled by any group difference in cardiac control measures (e.g. heart rate variability, interbeat interval). These findings corroborate the notion that nightmares are essentially a REM pathology and suggest that increased emotional arousal during REM sleep, as measured by HEP, is a physiological condition responsible for frequent nightmares. This result also supports that HEP may be used as a biomarker of increased emotional and sensory processing during REM sleep in these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lampros Perogamvros
- Center for Sleep Medicine, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medical Specialties, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Hyeong-Dong Park
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Laurence Bayer
- Center for Sleep Medicine, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medical Specialties, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Aurore A Perrault
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University of Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Schwartz
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Stieger S, Kuhlmann T. Validating Psychometric Questionnaires Using Experience-Sampling Data: The Case of Nightmare Distress. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:901. [PMID: 30568572 PMCID: PMC6290086 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Nightmares are a comparatively frequent phenomenon. They are often accompanied by emotional distress and gain clinical relevance when recurrent. To assess how much distress nightmares cause the individual, the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire (NDQ, Belicki, 1992) is probably the most often used measure. However, its validity is still disputed. To analyze the validity of the proposed three NDQ subscales in more detail, we conducted an experience sampling study, gathering data either in real-time or short retrospective timeframes over the course of 22 days twice per day (N = 92 participants). The measurements were implemented via a mobile app using participants’ own smartphones. Besides the dream quality, we assessed concepts on a daily basis that past research found to be related to dreams. These included critical life events, alcohol consumption, eating behavior, and well-being. We found that only the subscales “general nightmare distress” and “impact on sleep” showed convergent as well as divergent validity. The validity of the subscale “impact on daily reality perception” is unclear. If at all, this subscale is rather indirectly associated with nightmare distress. Furthermore, all of the NDQ items did not differentiate between a bad dream and a nightmare, which suggests that the NDQ might rather be a measure of negative dreams in general and not nightmares in particular. Based on the present experience sampling design, we propose to advance the validation process by further possibilities, such as an item-level, person-level, and multi-level approach. This approach seems to be especially fruitful for concepts which are not very salient (e.g., laughter), can hardly be remembered retrospectively (e.g., dream content), or are potentially threatened by recall biases (e.g., alcohol consumption).
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Stieger
- Department of Psychology and Psychodynamics, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems an der Donau, Austria.,Department of Psychology, Research Methods, Assessment and iScience, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Tim Kuhlmann
- Department of Psychology, Research Methods, Assessment and iScience, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Sleep spindles are altered in early- but not late-onset nightmare recallers. Sleep Med 2018; 52:34-42. [PMID: 30218785 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2018.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Nightmares are a common sleep disorder, defined as highly disturbing mentation which usually awakens the individual from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. While nightmares are mainly a REM sleep phenomenon, Picard-Deland et al., (2017) recently showed an association between nightmare recall and sleep spindles, which are a non-rapid eye movement (NREM) oscillatory feature. Their results pointed to fewer slow spindles and a higher oscillatory frequency for fast spindles among frequent nightmare recallers compared with controls. To test the suggestion that nightmares stem from changes to emotional neural circuits arising in early childhood (Nielsen, 2017), including early changes in sleep spindles (Scholle et al., 2007), we investigated if the spindle features of early-onset nightmare recallers (ie, recalling nightmares since childhood) (N = 22), differed from those of late-onset nightmare recallers (ie, since adolescence or adulthood) (N = 11), or from those of controls (N = 23). A retrospective analysis of the sleep spindles of 56 participants who had undergone a polysomnographically-recorded morning nap revealed that Early starters uniquely exhibited lower slow spindle densities in five of six derivations (all p < 0.045) and higher fast spindle frequencies in all six derivations (all p < 0.015). These results add precision to previously reported findings for Nightmare recallers: spindle differences are shown to hold only for Early starters. The lifelong occurrence of nightmares may be closely tied to disruptions in the normal development of spindle generation processes occurring early in development.
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