Autobiographical memory sources of threats in dreams.

Temporal sources of dream threats were examined through the paradigm of the Threat Simulation Theory. Two groups of young adults (18-24 years old), who did not experience severe threatening events in the year preceding their dream and reported a dream either with or without threats, were included. Participants (N = 119) kept a log of daily activities and a dream diary, indicating whether dream components referred to past experiences. The occurrence of oneiric threats correlated with the reporting of threats in the daily logs, their average severity, and the stress level experienced the day preceding the dream. The group whose dreams contained threats had significantly more references to temporal categories beyond one year than the group with dreams without threats. Our findings suggest that in the absence of recent highly negative emotional experiences, the threat simulation system selects memory traces of threatening events experienced in the past.

Dream content of Canadian males from adolescence to old age: An exploration of ontogenetic patterns.

The present study was a first look at the ontogenetic pattern of dream content across the lifespan for men. The participants included 50 Canadian men in each of 5 age groups, from adolescence to old age including 12-17, 18-24, 25-39, 40-64, and 65-85. The last age group included 31 participants, totaling 231 males. One dream per participant was scored by two independent judges using content analysis. Trend analysis was used to determine the lifespan-developmental pattern of the dream content categories. Results demonstrated a predominance of aggressive dream imagery in the adolescent age group in line with social-developmental research. These patterns of dream imagery reflect the waking developmental patterns as proposed by social theories and recognized features of aging. Limitations and suggestions for future research, including the examining of the developmental pattern of gender differences across the lifespan, are discussed.

Sleep slow waves' negative-to-positive-phase transition: a marker of cognitive and apneic status in aging.

The sleep slow-wave (SW) transition between negative and positive phases is thought to mirror synaptic strength and likely depends on brain health. This transition shows significant age-related changes but has not been investigated in pathological aging. The present study aimed at comparing the transition speed and other characteristics of SW between older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and cognitively normal (CN) controls with and without obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We also examined the association of SW characteristics with the longitudinal changes of episodic memory and executive functions and the degree of subjective cognitive complaints. aMCI (no/mild OSA = 17; OSA = 15) and CN (no/mild OSA = 20; OSA = 17) participants underwent a night of polysomnography and a neuropsychological evaluation at baseline and 18 months later. Participants with aMCI had a significantly slower SW negative-to-positive-phase transition speed and a higher proportion of SW that are "slow-switchers" than CN participants. These SW measures in the frontal region were significantly correlated with memory decline and cognitive complaints in aMCI and cognitive improvements in CN participants. The transition speed of the SW that are "fast-switchers" was significantly slower in OSA compared to no or mild obstructive sleep apnea participants. The SW transition-related metrics showed opposite correlations with the longitudinal episodic memory changes depending on the participants' cognitive status. These relationships were particularly strong in participants with aMCI. As the changes of the SW transition-related metrics in pathological aging might reflect synaptic alterations, future studies should investigate whether these new metrics covary with biomarker levels of synaptic integrity in this population.

REM sleep is associated with the volume of the cholinergic basal forebrain in aMCI individuals.

BACKGROUND: Rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep highly depends on the activity of cholinergic basal forebrain (BF) neurons and is reduced in Alzheimer's disease. Here, we investigated the associations between the volume of BF nuclei and REM sleep characteristics, and the impact of cognitive status on these links, in late middle-aged and older participants. METHODS: Thirty-one cognitively healthy controls (66.8 ± 7.2 years old, 13 women) and 31 participants with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) (68.3 ± 8.8 years old, 7 women) were included in this cross-sectional study. All participants underwent polysomnography, a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment and Magnetic Resonance Imaging examination. REM sleep characteristics (i.e., percentage, latency and efficiency) were derived from polysomnographic recordings. T1-weighted images were preprocessed using CAT12 and the DARTEL algorithm, and we extracted the gray matter volume of BF regions of interest using a probabilistic atlas implemented in the JuBrain Anatomy Toolbox. Multiple linear regressions were performed between the volume of BF nuclei and REM sleep characteristics controlling for age, sex and total intracranial volume, in the whole cohort and in subgroups stratified by cognitive status. RESULTS: In the whole sample, lower REM sleep percentage was significantly associated to lower nucleus basalis of Meynert (Ch4) volume (ß = 0.32, p = 0.009). When stratifying the cohort according to cognitive status, lower REM sleep percentage was significantly associated to both lower Ch4 (ß = 0.48, p = 0.012) and total BF volumes (ß = 0.44, p = 0.014) in aMCI individuals, but not in cognitively unimpaired participants. No significant associations were observed between the volume of the BF and wake after sleep onset or non-REM sleep variables. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that REM sleep disturbances may be an early manifestation of the degeneration of the BF cholinergic system before the onset of dementia, especially in participants with mild memory deficits.

Dreamers' evaluation of the emotional valence of their day-to-day dreams is indicative of some mood regulation function.

Dreams may contribute to psychological adaptation by aiding in mood regulation. One way it could be achieved is through a desensitization process whereby negative events are replayed within the dream under lower conditions of negative emotionality. Evidence of this theory is supported by the tendency of dreamers to evaluate their emotions felt in their dreams more positively compared to an independent judge (i.e., positivity bias). Additionally, it has been observed that while dream emotions are typically more negative than pre-sleep emotions, morning emotions are more positive, suggesting that emotional regulation occurs overnight and may help improve mood in the morning. The present study aimed to examine the relationships between pre-sleep, dream, and morning mood and the potential desensitization function of remembered dreams as indicated by their effects on morning mood and stress. Methodology: Participants (N = 188; Mean age = 19.2, SD = 3.0) recorded their dreams (N = 345 dreams) and self-reported their stress and mood at bedtime, during their dream retrospectively, and upon waking. A judge also evaluated the subjects' dream moods. Subjects' positivity bias was defined as the difference between the subjects and the judge's evaluation of the positive emotions in the dream. Results: A MANOVA revealed that subjects perceived a higher level of positive emotions in their dreams compared to a judge. Multi-group path analysis revealed that some relationships between pre-sleep, dream, and morning emotions and stress differed in positive and negative dream nights. In both groups, the strongest predictors of morning mood and stress were pre-sleep mood and stress, respectively. The second strongest predictor of positive morning mood was the subjects' dream positivity bias. Conclusion: Results provide some support for the association of dreaming in mood regulation attributable to REM sleep. They also highlight that pathways implicated in mood regulation may be distinct from stress regulation.

Dissociated Effects of Age and Recent Troubling Experiences on Nightmares, Threats and Negative Emotions in Dreams.

Several studies have highlighted associations between adverse life events and the dysphoric character of dream experiences. This degree of continuity between waking-life and dream content seems partly attributed to the emotional and personal attachment linked to the incorporated waking experiences. Numerous changes in the processing of emotion-related stimuli are also reported across different human developmental stages. Therefore, we were interested in testing whether age would modulate the impact of recent troubling experiences on dream characteristics. Two hundred sixty participants, evenly distributed in five developmental stages, matched for gender and their exposure to a troubling experience, were selected from a large sample collected for a previous normative study of dreams of Canadians. Participants completed a dream questionnaire from which independent judges subsequently scored the dreams. We observed no interactions between the experience of troubling events and age. However, individuals who experienced a recent troubling event reported a higher frequency of nightmares and their dreams were more emotionally negative. Participants who experienced a moderately severe troubling event were also more likely to experience a dream whose maximal threat severity was of moderate intensity. Adolescents and young adults had dreams with a higher level of oneiric threats compared to older adults (>40 years old). Young adults also reported a higher frequency of nightmares compared to older adults. Our findings have implications for modern dream theories. They also suggest that dysphoric dreams might serve as potential proxies of mental health status and developmental stages. Future studies are now needed to explore the implications of these findings for psychological adaptation.

Medial temporal lobe and obstructive sleep apnea: Effect of sex, age, cognitive status and free-water.

Medial temporal structures, namely the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex and the parahippocampal gyrus, are particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease and hypoxemia. Here, we tested the associations between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity and medial temporal lobe volumes in 114 participants aged 55-86 years (35 % women). We also investigated the impact of sex, age, cognitive status, and free-water fraction correction on these associations. Increased OSA severity was associated with larger hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes in women, but not in men. Greater OSA severity also correlated with increased hippocampal volumes in participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, but not in cognitively unimpaired participants, regardless of sex. Using free-water corrected volumes eliminated all significant associations with OSA severity. Therefore, the increase in medial temporal subregion volumes may possibly be due to edema. Whether these structural manifestations further progress to neuronal death in non-treated OSA patients should be investigated.

Sleeping at the switch.

Sleep slow waves are studied for their role in brain plasticity, homeostatic regulation, and their changes during aging. Here, we address the possibility that two types of slow waves co-exist in humans. Thirty young and 29 older adults underwent a night of polysomnographic recordings. Using the transition frequency, slow waves with a slow transition (slow switchers) and those with a fast transition (fast switchers) were discovered. Slow switchers had a high electroencephalography (EEG) connectivity along their depolarization transition while fast switchers had a lower connectivity dynamics and dissipated faster during the night. Aging was associated with lower temporal dissipation of sleep pressure in slow and fast switchers and lower EEG connectivity at the microscale of the oscillations, suggesting a decreased flexibility in the connectivity network of older individuals. Our findings show that two different types of slow waves with possible distinct underlying functions coexist in the slow wave spectrum.

Are age and sex effects on sleep slow waves only a matter of electroencephalogram amplitude?

Aging is associated with reduced slow wave (SW) density (number SW/min in nonrapid-eye movement sleep) and amplitude. It has been proposed that an age-related decrease in SW density may be due to a reduction in electroencephalogram (EEG) amplitude instead of a decline in the capacity to generate SW. Here, we propose a data-driven approach to adapt SW amplitude criteria to age and sex. We predicted that the adapted criteria would reduce age and sex differences in SW density and SW characteristics but would not abolish them. A total of 284 healthy younger and older adults participated in one night of sleep EEG recording. We defined age- and sex-adapted SW criteria in a first cohort of younger (n = 97) and older (n = 110) individuals using a signal-to-noise ratio approach. We then used these age- and sex-specific criteria in an independent second cohort (n = 77, 38 younger and 39 older adults) to evaluate age and sex differences on SW density and SW characteristics. After adapting SW amplitude criteria, we showed maintenance of an age-related difference for SW density whereas the sex-related difference vanished. Indeed, older adults produced less SW compared with younger adults. Specifically, the adapted SW amplitude criteria increased the probability of occurrence of low amplitude SW (<80 µV) for older men especially. Our results thereby confirm an age-related decline in SW generation rather than an artifact in the detection amplitude criteria. As for the SW characteristics, the age- and sex-adapted criteria display reproducible effects across the two independent cohorts suggesting a more reliable inventory of the SW.

Sleep architecture in adolescents hospitalized during a suicidal crisis.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Rates of suicide attempts in Canadian youths are concerning. Adolescence is a sensitive period for the emergence of both sleep and mood problems, two major risk factors for suicidality. This naturalistic study aimed to define the sleep profile of adolescents under the combined influence of suicidality, depression and pharmacotherapy during hospitalization for a suicidal crisis. PATIENTS/METHODS: Seventeen suicidal adolescents (15.0 + 1.2years, 82% females) with major depression were recruited from a Canadian pedopsychiatric inpatient unit. Seventeen non-depressed adolescents were retrospectively collated from another database (15.0 + 1.1years, 83% females). None of the participants had a history of sleep disorders or significant medical conditions. RESULTS: Compared to controls, suicidal adolescents had a longer sleep onset latency (Z = -4.5, p < 0.001), longer REM latency (Z = -3.2, p = 0.001), higher percentage of NREM1 sleep t(33) = -2.6, p = 0.020), and higher REM density (Z = -2.8, p = 0.004) than controls. Higher REM density correlated with higher CDI-II scores (r = 0.55, p = 0.27) A significant interaction indicated that the two groups had similar NREM3 percentages in the first two-thirds of the night, but that the suicidal group had significantly lower NREM3 percentage than the controls in the last third of the night (F(2,66) = 3.4, p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: Significant sleep abnormalities were observed during hospitalization for a suicidal crisis in a sample of depressed and mostly medicated adolescents. This included sleep initiation and REM sleep latency abnormalities, shallower sleep and high REM density. Future studies should decipher the relative effects of depression, suicidality and medication on sleep. These findings stress the need to address sleep disturbances in the management of suicidality in adolescents.

Biomarkers of dementia in obstructive sleep apnea.

Epidemiologic and mechanistic evidence is increasingly supporting the notion that obstructive sleep apnea is a risk factor for dementia. Hence, the identification of patients at risk of cognitive decline due to obstructive sleep apnea may significantly improve preventive strategies and treatment decision-making. Cerebrospinal fluid and blood biomarkers obtained through genomic, proteomic and metabolomic approaches are improving the ability to predict incident dementia. Therefore, fluid biomarkers have the potential to predict vulnerability to neurodegeneration in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, as well as deepen our understanding of pathophysiological processes linking obstructive sleep apnea and dementia. Many fluid biomarkers linked to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia show abnormal levels in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, suggesting that these conditions share common underlying mechanisms, including amyloid and tau protein neuropathology, inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic disturbances. Markers of these processes include amyloid-ß, tau proteins, inflammatory cytokines, acute-phase proteins, antioxydants and oxidized products, homocysteine and clusterin (apolipoprotein J). Thus, these biomarkers may have the ability to identify adults with obstructive sleep apnea at high risk of dementia and provide an opportunity for therapeutic intervention. Large cohort studies are necessary to establish a specific fluid biomarker panel linking obstructive sleep apnea to dementia risk.