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

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 02:52 authored by Daniel ZujDaniel Zuj, Matthew PalmerMatthew Palmer, Malhi, GS, Bryant, RA, Felmingham, KL
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 research using polysomnographic measures of sleep-wave architecture may further clarify the relationship between fear reinstatement and sleep quality in clinical samples with PTSD relative to controls.

History

Publication title

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Volume

110

Pagination

1-10

ISSN

0005-7967

Department/School

School of Psychological Sciences

Publisher

Elsevier Science

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in psychology

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