Sleep mechanism identified that plays role in emotional memory

Sleep mechanism identified that plays role in emotional memory

Their findings have implications for individuals suffering from insomnia related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders who are prescribed zolpidem (Ambien) to help them sleep.

The study -- "Pharmacologically Increasing Sleep Spindles Enhances Recognition for Negative and High-arousal Memories" -- appears in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Mednick and UC San Diego psychologists Erik J. Kaestner and John T. Wixted determined that a sleep feature known as sleep spindles -- bursts of brain activity that last for a second or less during a specific stage of sleep -- are important for emotional memory.

Research Mednick published earlier this year demonstrated the critical role that sleep spindles play in consolidating information from short-term to long-term memory in the hippocampus, located in the cerebral cortex of the brain. Zolpidem enhanced the process, a discovery that could lead to new sleep therapies to improve memory for aging adults and those with dementia, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia. It was the first study to show that sleep can be manipulated with pharmacology to improve memory.

"We know that sleep spindles are involved in declarative memory -- explicit information we recall about the world, such as places, people and events, " she explained.

But until now, researchers had not considered sleep spindles as playing a role in emotional memory , focusing instead on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Using two commonly prescribed sleep aids -- zolpidem and sodium oxybate (Xyrem) -- Mednick, Kaestner and Wixted were able to tease apart the effects of sleep spindles and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on the recall of emotional memories. They determined that sleep spindles, not REM, affect emotional memory.

The researchers gave zolpidem, sodium oxybate (Xyrem) and a placebo to 28 men and women between the ages of 18 and 39 who were normal sleepers, allowing several days between doses to allow the pharmaceuticals to leave their bodies. The participants viewed standardized images known to elicit positive and negative responses for one second before and after taking supervised naps. They recalled more images that had negative or highly arousing content after taking zolpidem, a finding that also suggests that the brain may favor consolidation of negative memories, she said.

"I was surprised by the specificity of the results, that the emotional memory improvement was specifically for the negative and high-arousal memories, and the ramifications of these results for people with anxiety disorders and PTSD," Mednick said. "These are people who already have heightened memory for negative and high-arousal memories. Sleep drugs might be improving their memories for things they don't want to remember."

The study may have even broader implications, the researchers said. Clinical guidelines of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense recommend against the routine use of benzodiazepines to treat PTSD, although their use increased among men and women with PTSD between 2003 and 2010. The effects of benzodiazepines on sleep are similar to those of zolpidem.

The U.S. Air Force uses zolpidem as one of the prescribed "no-go pills" to help flight crews calm down after taking stimulants to stay awake during long missions, the researchers noted in the study.

"In light of the present results, it would be worthwhile to investigate whether the administration of benzodiazepine-like drugs may be increasing the retention of highly arousing and negative memories, which would have a countertherapeutic effect," they wrote. "Further research on the relationship between hypnotics and emotional mood disorders would seem to be in order."

This study was funded by a National Institutes of Health career award to Sara C. Mednick, assistant professor of psychology at UC Riverside, of $651,999 over five years.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.

SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

CMF552K2000JLBF CMF552K2000JKRE CMF552K2000JKKA CMF552K2000JKEK CMF552K2000JKEB CMF552K2000JKEA CMF552K2000JKBF CMF552K2000GKEK CMF552K2000GKEA CMF552K2000GKBF CMF552K2000FKWF CMF552K2000FKRE70 CMF552K2000FKRE CMF552K2000FKR8 CMF552K2000FKR7 CMF552K2600BEEB70 CMF552K2600BEEA70 CMF552K2600BEEA CMF552K2580BEEK CMF552K2580BEBF CMF552K2300BHEB CMF552K2300BHBF CMF552K2300BEWF CMF552K2300BERE CMF552K2300BER8 CMF552K2300BER6 CMF552K2300BEEB CMF552K2300BEEA CMF552K2300BEBF CMF552K2100FKWF70 CMF552K2100FKWF39 CMF552K2100FKWF CMF552K2100FKRE70 CMF552K2100FKRE39 CMF552K2100FKRE CMF552K2100FKR870 CMF552K2100FKR839 CMF552K2100FKR8 CMF552K2100FKR770 CMF552K2100FKR739
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/2638.aspx