Rapid eye movement sleep parasympathetic activity predicts wake hyperarousal symptoms following a traumatic event.
J Sleep Res
; 32(1): e13685, 2023 02.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35915961
ABSTRACT
Heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to assess changes in output of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Considering that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often experience disturbances in sleep, arousal, and autonomic functioning, we sought to explore the association of PNS activity during sleep with hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD. Because a broad literature supports the importance of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in PTSD, REM-sleep features were specifically examined as predictors of PTSD symptom severity. A total of 90 participants, primarily civilian and female, aged 18-40 years who had experienced a traumatic event in the last 2 years, underwent an ambulatory polysomnography (PSG) acclimation night followed by a second PSG night from which sleep physiological measures were computed. Participants underwent an ambulatory polysomnography (PSG) acclimation night followed by a second PSG night from which sleep physiological measures were computed. PTSD severity was measured using the PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (PCL-5). Dependent variables were total PCL-5 score as well as its hyperarousal symptom subscore. Predictors included REM latency, percentage, density, segment length, and an index of parasympathetic tone (root mean square of the successive differences in the R-R interval or RMSSD). Hierarchical regression models were conducted to analyse the association of REM features with PCL-5 total and hyperarousal subscales. Using hierarchical regression, REM-sleep RMSSD accounted for a significant proportion of the variation in outcome variables, even when accounting for other REM-sleep features. The present findings support hypothesised relationships between PTSD symptomatology and REM-sleep physiology and, specifically, that lowered parasympathetic tone in REM may be an important associate of the hyperarousal symptom cluster in PTSD.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Trastornos del Sueño-Vigilia
/
Trastornos por Estrés Postraumático
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Sleep Res
Asunto de la revista:
PSICOFISIOLOGIA
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos
Pais de publicación:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
/
UNITED KINGDOM