To Reduce Fear, Sleep on It — But Sleep Right

An animal study yields insights into how sleep helps to consolidate the memory of fear extinction.

Fear extinction creates a new neutral memory that competes with a fear memory when an individual encounters a situation associated with a feared stimulus. This is considered a valid animal model of exposure therapy, the most empirically supported treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study exploring the role of sleep in fear extinction learning, rats placed individually in cages were given a series of foot shocks; most rats responded with behavioral freezing. The next day, they were placed in the same cage without receiving shocks. Some animals were removed from the cage after 15 minutes (no extinction memory training); others remained for another 30 minutes (sufficient time for extinction memory training).

On day 3, 5…

Reviewing Author

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

To Reduce Fear, Sleep on It — But Sleep Right

Topics

Reviewing Author