Sleep deprivation wipes out memories associated with fear
December 8th, 2010 - 1:49 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Dec 8 (ANI): It’s a common conception that sleeping on a problem might drive it away, but a new study suggests that that’s not necessarily true.
An important component of anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is the formulation of memories associated with fear.
Research has also shown that sleep plays a crucial role in the development of memories.
Therefore, researchers decided to find out if sleep deprivation after exposure to an aversive event might eliminate the associated fear, due to the lack of memory consolidation that would typically occur during sleep.
They evaluated healthy volunteers who were shown video clips of both safe driving and unexpected motor vehicle accidents. Half of the volunteers were then deprived of sleep while the other half received a normal night’s sleep.
Results revealed that in sleep-deprived volunteers, memories associated with fear were not present anymore, suggesting a possible therapy for individuals with PTSD or other anxiety disorders.
“It would be nice if the benefits of sleep deprivation upon fear learning could be produced more easily for survivors of extreme stress,” noted John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry and Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at Yale University.
Further research is necessary, but these findings indicate that sleep deprivation is a promising avenue for the possible treatment and prevention of PTSD. (ANI)
- Men, women's immune systems respond differently to post-traumatic stress disorder - Apr 27, 2011
- Stress can improve ordinary, unrelated memories: Study - Dec 22, 2010
- Sleep best time to strengthen memories: Study - Jan 24, 2011
- Study suggests possibilities for treatments for anxiety disorders - Jun 04, 2010
- Drug cuts fear caused by previous traumatic experiences in mice - Jan 13, 2011
- Dreams get rid of painful memories - Nov 27, 2011
- Club drug ecstasy good for autism, post-traumatic stress patients - Jan 02, 2011
- Dreams help grapple inner turmoil - Nov 24, 2011
- Keeping awake eases impact of traumatic events - Jan 18, 2012
- Doctors Suspect That PTSD Soldiers Were Misdiagnosed - Aug 16, 2010
- Women war veterans prone to mental health problems during pregnancy - Dec 22, 2010
- Smoking can reduce thickness of the brain - Dec 03, 2010
- One-tenth of Iraq returned soldiers 'have mental health problems' - Jun 08, 2010
- Scientists unravel genetic link to trauma - Feb 02, 2012
- Soon, it would be possible to 'delete painful memories'! - Nov 03, 2010
Tags: anxiety disorders, biological psychiatry, extreme stress, fear research, further research, krystal, lack of memory, memories, memory consolidation, motor vehicle accidents, ptsd, safe driving, sleep, sleep deprivation, stress disorder, study suggests that, survivors, video clips, volunteers, yale university