The impact of sleep on lab-analogue trauma memory

Abstract

Sleep is essential for emotional memory processing, yet findings on its effects remain mixed. This thesis examines the role of sleep in both the content and emotional reactivity of lab-analogue traumatic memories. Using a trauma film paradigm to assess sequence and duration memory alongside affective tone, this study explored whether sleep differentially modulates these aspects of traumatic versus neutral memories. Additionally, it investigated the role of specific sleep characteristics—such as slow oscillations, spindles, and their coupling events—in shaping lab-analogue traumatic memories. Eighteen participants underwent EEG-monitored sleep following exposure to neutral and trauma films. Contrary to expectations that sleep would preferentially consolidate emotional memories, no significant difference emerged in memory retention between traumatic and neutral memories. However, sleep, particularly REM sleep and SO-spindle coupling, was found to attenuate the emotional intensity of traumatic memories. These findings offer new evidence for sleep’s complex role in modulating memory and emotional reactivity. While sleep did not prioritize the consolidation of emotional content, it significantly contributed to reducing emotional reactivity, emphasizing the regulatory role of specific sleep stages and events. This study advances our understanding of sleep’s impact on emotional reactivity and memory processing of lab-analogue traumatic memory, with future research recommended to validate these findings in larger samples.