Sleep spindle dynamics suggest over-consolidation in post-traumatic stress disorder

van der Heijden, A. C.; Hofman, W. F.; de Boer, M.; Nijdam, M. J.; van Marle, H. J.; Jongedijk, R. J.; Olff, M.; Talamini, L. M.

doi:10.1101/2021.07.29.453342

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.07.29.453342

Sleep spindle dynamics suggest over-consolidation in post-traumatic stress disorder

van der Heijden, A. C.·Hofman, W. F.·de Boer, M.·Nijdam, M. J.·van Marle, H. J.·Jongedijk, R. J.·Olff, M.·Talamini, L. M.

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Abstract

Devastating and persisting traumatic memories are a central symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Sleep problems are highly co-occurrent with PTSD and intertwined with its etiology. Notably, sleep hosts memory consolidation processes, supported by sleep spindles (11-16 Hz). Here we assess the hypothesis that intrusive memory symptoms in PTSD may arise from excessive memory consolidation, reflected in exaggerated spindling. We use a newly developed spindle detection method, entailing minimal assumptions regarding spindle phenotype, to assess spindle activity in PTSD patients and traumatized controls (n=2x14, matched on gender). Our results show increased spindle activity in PTSD, which positively correlates with daytime intrusive memory symptoms. Together, these findings provide a putative mechanism through which profound sleep disturbance in PTSD may contribute to memory problems. Due to its uniform and unbiased approach, the new, minimal assumption spindle detection method seems a promising tool to detect aberrant spindling in psychiatric disorders.

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van der Heijden, A. C., Hofman, W. F., de Boer, M., Nijdam, M. J., van Marle, H. J., Jongedijk, R. J., Olff, M., Talamini, L. M.. 2021-07-30. Sleep spindle dynamics suggest over-consolidation in post-traumatic stress disorder. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.29.453342

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