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0941 Functional Impairment Due to Excessive Daytime Sleepiness is Associated with Greater Activation in the Default Mode Network When Anticipating Negative Stimuli in Individuals with PTSD

Year: 2018

Type: conference-abstract

Abstract: Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly report sleep difficulties. Sleep disturbance is known to have far-reaching negative effects on emotion regulation, a critical factor in the maintenance of PTSD. Additionally, sleep disturbance has significant negative effects on the performance of activities of daily living (ADLs). However, the relationship between the effects of excessive daytime sleepiness and functional brain responses during emotion processing remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated functional brain activation during an emotional anticipation task and correlated this activation with ADL impairment due to excessive daytime sleepiness. Thirty-one adults (17 female, mean age=30.56) clinically diagnosed with PTSD completed an emotional anticipation task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging session. Participants also rated the impact of excessive sleepiness on ADLs and sleep-related quality of life (QoL) using the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ). When anticipating negative stimuli (in contrast to no anticipation), there was a positive correlation between FOSQ scores (greater FOSQ scores indicate worse ADL performance and QoL) and activation within two regions comprising the default mode network (DMN), notably, the medial prefrontal cortex [x=-4, y=40, z=-12]; k=317; p=<0.001, FWE cluster-corrected] and the posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex [x=-8, y=-46, z=38]; k= 82; p< 0.001, FWE cluster-corrected]. There was no association between FOSQ scores and activation when anticipating positive stimuli. The results showed greater activation within areas of the DMN when anticipating negative stimuli was associated with poorer ADL performance and poorer sleep-related quality of life due to excessive sleepiness in individuals with PTSD. Interestingly, this association was not found when individuals were anticipating positive images. These findings may therefore suggest that excessive sleepiness and the associated impairment in daily functioning could exacerbate avoidance behaviors or dissociative states in individuals with PTSD when anticipating negative events. Support (If Any):

Source: SLEEP

DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsy061.940