Greater sleep disturbance and longer sleep onset latency facilitate SCR-specific fear reinstatement in PTSD

Behaviour Research and Therapy
Daniel V ZujKim L Felmingham

Abstract

Fear reinstatement is one of several paradigms designed to measure fear return following extinction, as a laboratory model for the relapse of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Sleep is a key factor in emotional memory consolidation, and here we examined the relationship between sleep quality and fear reinstatement in PTSD, relative to trauma-exposed and non-exposed controls. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used as a subjective measure of sleep quality, and skin conductance responses (SCR) and unconditioned stimulus (US)-expectancy ratings were used to index threat responses during a differential fear conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement paradigm. There were no significant between-group differences in the reinstatement of conditioned responding. Sleep disturbance and sleep onset latency were significant moderators between reinstatement of fear and PTSD symptom severity, such that there was a positive relationship between PTSD symptoms and fear reinstatement for higher levels - but not lower levels - of sleep disturbance and sleep onset latency. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate PTSD-specific reinstatement patterns and sleep as a boundary condition of reinstatement. Future ...Continue Reading

Citations

Apr 28, 2021·Scientific Reports·Eva Maria FritzThomas Fenzl
Jun 8, 2021·International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·Jayne MorrissGaëtan Mertens

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