Non-rapid eye movement sleep

About: Non-rapid eye movement sleep is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8661 publications have been published within this topic receiving 389465 citations. The topic is also known as: NREM.

Sleep Problems in the Elderly

Abstract: Refreshing sleep requires both sufficient total sleep time as well as sleep that is in synchrony with the individual's circadian rhythm. Problems with sleep organization in elderly patients typically include difficulty falling asleep, less time spent in the deeper stages of sleep, early-morning awakening and less total sleep time. Poor sleep habits such as irregular sleep-wake times and daytime napping may contribute to insomnia. Caffeine, alcohol and some medications can also interfere with sleep. Primary sleep disorders are more common in the elderly than in younger persons. Restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder can disrupt sleep and may respond to low doses of antiparkinsonian agents as well as other drugs. Sleep apnea can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness. Evaluation of sleep problems in the elderly includes careful screening for poor sleep habits and other factors that may be contributing to the sleep problem. Formal sleep studies may be needed when a primary sleep disorder is suspected or marked daytime dysfunction is noted. Therapy with a benzodiazepine receptor agonist may be indicated after careful evaluation.

Sleep promotes lasting changes in selective memory for emotional scenes.

Abstract: Although we know that emotional events enjoy a privileged status in our memories, we still have much to learn about how emotional memories are processed, stored, and how they change over time. Here we show a positive association between REM sleep and the selective consolidation of central, negative aspects of complex scenes. Moreover, we show that the placement of sleep is critical for this selective emotional memory benefit. When testing occurred 24hr post-encoding, subjects who slept soon after learning (24hr Sleep First group) had superior memory for emotional objects compared to subjects whose sleep was delayed for 16hr post-encoding following a full day of wakefulness (24hr Wake First group). However, this increase in memory for emotional objects corresponded with a decrease in memory for the neutral backgrounds on which these objects were placed. Furthermore, memory for emotional objects in the 24hr Sleep First group was comparable to performance after just a 12hr delay containing a night of sleep, suggesting that sleep soon after learning selectively stabilizes emotional memory. These results suggest that the sleeping brain preserves in long-term memory only what is emotionally salient and perhaps most adaptive to remember.

Evidence of dissociated arousal states during NREM parasomnia from an intracerebral neurophysiological study.

Abstract: CONFUSIONAL AROUSALS, SLEEP TERRORS, AND SLEEPWALKING BELONG TO A FAMILY OF DISORDERS SHARING COMMON FEATURES, CLASSIFIED AS arousal parasomnias. Their hallmarks are onset during NREM slow wave sleep (although episodes arising from stage 2 NREM sleep are documented) and a lack of conscious awareness or memory of the event; the event is characterized by the presence of automatic behaviors.1 A breakdown of boundaries between wakefulness and NREM sleep, resulting in the coexistence of these 2 states, is considered to be the basis of arousal parasomnias.2 Indeed, routine scalp EEG during these episodes often shows the presence of high-amplitude slow waves with superimposed wake-like activity (α and β activity).3–5 This could be the expression of a global phenomenon in which sleep and wake activity involve the whole brain simultaneously; conversely, it could be the result of coexistence of different local behaviors: local “awakenings” and local sleep. A SPECT study during sleepwalking found an increase in regional blood flow in the posterior cingulate cortex, while blood flow in the frontoparietal associative cortices was decreased.6 Here we describe the results of a neurophysiological investigation that captured a confusional arousal in a subject affected by drug-resistant epilepsy who was undergoing an intracerebral EEG investigation (stereo-EEG [S-EEG]) during presurgical assessment. The S-EEG findings showed the presence of local arousal of the motor and cingulate cortices associated with increased delta activity in the frontoparietal associative cortices.