Why Do PTSD Patients Relive Intense Fear-Based Memories In Sleep? New Models Provide Insight.

Many people suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Many people relive intensely-charged memories and fearful emotions while they sleep. Virginia Tech’s neuroscientists recently discovered why this happens using brain models. reported. These findings can be used to develop therapies that may reduce the impact of PTSD on sleep.

The brain can be quite active during rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. This is what Sujith Vijayan (Virginia Tech neuroscientist and professor, co-author of this study), called it. “paradoxical sleep.” The high activity of REM sleep combined with post-traumatic Stress Disorder can help people suffering from this disorder relive painful past memories. “over and over” Vijayan again.

Normaly, the brain can summon up emotional memories during REM to purge the emotional charge. For people with PTSD, however, this normal process may malfunction and painful memories can be brought up night after night.

Their study revealed that Published Vijayan and his research team created a biophysical brain model that could be used to simulate neurophysiological functions such as communication between brain parts, neurotransmitters and brain waves.

Adjusting the brain rhythms between Prefrontal cortex The Amygdala in the model, researchers were able to link lower levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin with the brain’s ability to restrain fear and pain-based memories during REM sleep. The researchers also discovered that PTSD patients had higher levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, and other neurotransmitters during REM sleep. This caused painful memories to repeatedly come to mind.

Studies have also shown that REM sleep can reduce negative memories’ emotional impact. It is not yet the. “wild west” Vijayan explained how REM sleep works. “REM sleep is a lot harder to get your hands around. There are really good models out there for how non-REM sleep might consolidate memories and what role it might play in learning and memory. But when we talk about REM, there are no real, good models on how that stuff is happening,” He said.

This model, created by Vijayan with his team, provides a lot of insight. The brain wave rhythms of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex were examined. It was found that the strongest communication in the brain occurred between four to eight hertz on a theta range. This in turn inhibits fear expression cells during sleeping.

Researchers adjusted the models to increase the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine during REM. However, the model was ineffective at suppressing fear expression cells when it contained four to eight hertz of the theta brain rhythm. However, they found that ten hertz was effective in suppressing fear expression cells within the PTSD brain model.

These findings may lead to the creation of therapies, which Vijayan refers to as covert auditory stimuli. “That means I’m playing those sounds and you’re not aware of it while you’re sleeping,” He said. “That could be useful for any sort of disorder where sleep is disrupted, not only in PTSD, but in traumatic brain injury or Parkinson’s disease. The idea is that by inducing desired neural dynamics, we can engage the recuperative powers of sleep.”