Sleep deprivation may lead to higher anxiety levels, fMRI scans show

Emotional reactivity elevated from sleep loss, particularly in those already anxious

2012-06-11

(Press-News.org) DARIEN, IL – New research shows that sleep loss markedly exaggerates the degree to which we anticipate impending emotional events, particularly among highly anxious people, who are especially vulnerable.

Two common features of anxiety disorders are sleep loss and an amplification of emotional response. Results from the new study suggest that these features may not be independent of one another but may interact instead.

Researchers from the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, used brain scanning on 18 healthy adults in two separate sessions, one after a normal night's sleep and a second after a night of sleep deprivation. During both sessions, participants were exposed to an emotional task that involved a period of anticipating a potentially negative experience (an unpleasant visual image) or a potentially benign experience (a neutral visual image).

The fMRI scans showed that sleep deprivation significantly amplified the build-up of anticipatory activity in deep emotional brain centers, especially the amygdala, a part of the brain associated with responding to negative and unpleasant experiences. In some of these emotional centers of the brain, sleep deprivation detrimentally triggered an increase in anticipatory reaction by more than 60 percent.

In addition, the researchers found that the strength of this sleep deprivation effect was related to how naturally anxious the participants were. Those people who were more anxious showed the greatest vulnerability to the aggravating effects of sleep deprivation. The results suggest that anxiety may significantly elevate the emotional dysfunction and risk associated with insufficient sleep.

"Anticipation is a fundamental brain process, a common survival mechanism across numerous species," said Andrea Goldstein, lead author of the study and a graduate student in the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory. "Our results suggest that just one night of sleep loss significantly alters the optimal functioning of this essential brain process, especially among anxious individuals. This is perhaps never more relevant considering the continued erosion of sleep time that continues to occur across society."

###The abstract "Tired, anxious and expecting the worst: The impact of sleep deprivation and anxiety on emotional brain anticipation" is being presented today at SLEEP 2012, the 26th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) in Boston. To be placed on the mailing list for SLEEP 2012 press releases or to register for SLEEP 2012 press credentials, contact AASM PR Coordinator Doug Dusik at 630-737-9700 ext. 9364, or at ddusik@aasmnet.org.

A joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, the annual SLEEP meeting brings together an international body of more than 5,500 leading clinicians and scientists in the fields of sleep medicine and sleep research. At SLEEP 2012 (www.sleepmeeting.org), more than 1,300 research abstract presentations will showcase new findings that contribute to the understanding of sleep and the effective diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.

Follow @aasmorg on Twitter for live updates and use the official hashtag #SLEEP2012 to see what attendees are saying. "Like" the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on Facebook at Facebook.com/sleepmedicine for photos, videos and more.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scaffolding Law Reform in New York Attempted Again

2012-06-11

It seems like every year tort reform advocates and some state lawmakers in New York try to pass legislation that would change the state's scaffold law. Unfortunately, 2012 is turning out to be no different. A bill has been proposed that would change the protections provided to workers under the state's scaffold law, Labor Law Section 240(1). Under the current scaffold law, property owners and employers in New York bear absolute liability when construction workers are injured in accidents that involve any heights, such as scaffold, ladder and even stairway accidents. ...

MRI scans show how sleep loss affects the ability to choose proper foods

2012-06-11

DARIEN, IL – MRI scans from a study being presented today at SLEEP 2012 reveal how sleep deprivation impairs the higher-order regions in the human brain where food choices are made, possibly helping explain the link between sleep loss and obesity that previous research has uncovered. Twenty-three healthy adults participated in two sessions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), one after a normal night's sleep and a second after a night of sleep deprivation. In both sessions, participants rated how much they wanted various food items shown to them while they ...

Brain scans show specific neuronal response to junk food when sleep-restricted

2012-06-11

DARIEN, IL – The sight of unhealthy food during a period of sleep restriction activated reward centers in the brain that were less active when participants had adequate sleep, according to a new study using brain scans to better understand the link between sleep restriction and obesity. Researchers from St. Luke's – Roosevelt Hospital Center and Columbia University in New York performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on 25 men and women of normal weights while they looked at images of healthy and unhealthy foods. The scans were taken after five nights in ...

Updated Medical Certification Guidelines for New York CDL Holders

2012-06-11

At the end of January a new federal regulation took effect that requires all New York commercial driver's license holders (CDL) to have a medical certification in order to legally operate their vehicles. The medical certification must be issued by a doctor on a Department of Transportation approved form, and must state that the driver is physically able to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Typically the certification will be valid for two years, but can be good for a shorter period of time depending on the driver's medical condition. Only exempt personnel, like school ...

Aspirin before heart surgery reduces the risk of post-operative acute kidney failure

2012-06-11

Paris, France: Aspirin taken for five days before a heart operation can halve the numbers of patients developing post-operative acute kidney failure, according to research presented at the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Paris today (Sunday). Professor Jianzhong Sun (MD, PhD), professor and attending anaesthesiologist at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, USA), told the meeting that in a study of 3,219 patients, pre-operative aspirin therapy was associated with a reduction in acute renal failure of about three in every 100 patients ...

Positive results from first human clinical trials of a first-generation artificial pancreas system

2012-06-11

WEST CHESTER, Pa., June 11, 2012 – Results from the first feasibility study of an advanced first-generation artificial pancreas system were presented today at the 72nd Annual American Diabetes Association Meeting in Philadelphia. Findings from the study indicated that the Hypoglycemia-Hyperglycemia Minimizer (HHM) System was able to automatically predict a rise and fall in blood glucose and correspondingly increase and/or decrease insulin delivery safely. The HHM System included a continuous, subcutaneous insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and special software ...

Quick, simple test developed to identify patients who will not respond to the painkiller tramadol

2012-06-11

Paris, France: French researchers have found a way to identify quickly the 5-10% of patients in whom the commonly used painkiller, tramadol, does not work effectively. A simple blood test can produce a result within a few hours, enabling doctors to switch a non-responding patient on to another painkiller, such as morphine, which will be able to work in these patients. Dr Laurent Varin, an anaesthesiologist at the Caen Teaching Hospital (Caen, France), presented the findings to the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Paris today (Sunday). Tramadol is a synthetic opioid ...

Cerebral Palsy Effects Might Be Lessened By New Drug Treatment

2012-06-11

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong disorder affecting about one out of 300 children in the United States. It characteristically affects movement control, causing muscles to stiffen or jerk. Often, people with this disorder move their limbs awkwardly, and other muscles in the body may be affected as well. Patients with cerebral palsy may also be affected cognitively. The range of severity of symptoms of cerebral palsy is variable...some people are completely dependent on others for every aspect of daily living, and may be confined to bed or wheelchairs, while others are able to ...

Studies challenge established views development of children raised by gay or lesbian parents

2012-06-11

Oxford, June 10, 2012 - Despite considerable research showing that children of same-sex parents fare just as well as children with heterosexual parents, two papers - a review of existing studies and a new study - published today in Elsevier's Social Science Research, find insufficient data to draw any definitive conclusions. The review by Dr. Loren Marks from Louisiana State University finds that much of the science that forms the basis for the highly regarded 2005 official brief on same-sex parenting by the American Psychological Association (APA) (http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/parenting-full.pdf) ...

Researchers watch tiny living machines self-assemble

2012-06-11

Enabling bioengineers to design new molecular machines for nanotechnology applications is one of the possible outcomes of a study by University of Montreal researchers that was published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology today. The scientists have developed a new approach to visualize how proteins assemble, which may also significantly aid our understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which are caused by errors in assembly. "In order to survive, all creatures, from bacteria to humans, monitor and transform their environments using small protein ...

Sleep deprivation may lead to higher anxiety levels, fMRI scans show

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: