Citation

Djonlagic I, Guo M, Igue M, Malhotra A, Stickgold R. J. Clin. Sleep Med. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Center for Sleep and Cognition, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Academy of Sleep Medicine)

DOI

10.5664/jcsm.8210

PMID

31992413

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The clinical importance of obstructive sleep apnea, which can be prevalent during REM sleep, is unclear. The present study examines the effect of REM-related obstructive sleep apnea on motor memory consolidation as well as on mood states.

METHODS: We compared performance on the motor sequence task (MST), psychomotor vigilance test (PVT), Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) and the Profile of Mood State (POMS) survey between 3 groups: healthy controls (n=18), REM-exclusive OSA (n=17), and OSA patients with respiratory events throughout REM and NREM sleep (n=18).

RESULTS: As expected, performance on the MST improved overnight in the healthy control group. An improvement which was similar in magnitude was also observed in the REM-exclusive OSA group while patients with similar OSA during REM and NREM sleep showed reduced overnight memory consolidation. Consistent with these results, we found a correlation between overnight MST improvement and the apnea hypopnea index during NREM sleep (p=0.041), but not during REM sleep (p=0.424). On the other hand, REM-exclusive apnea patients demonstrated the most negative emotions based on scoring highest on the Profile of Mood State (POMS) survey (p=0.019).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence that while apneas occurring only during REM sleep do not have an effect on the encoding and stabilization of motor sequence memories, they are deleterious for emotional health.

© 2020 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Language: en

Keywords

OSA; REM sleep; emotional health; lung; sleep-dependent memory consolidation