This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.The persistence and morbidity associated with established PTSD has increased interest in understanding early determinants of the disorder. In addition to a role for immediate reactions, there is evidence for critical processes during the initial months following trauma that lead to consolidation versus resolution of PTSD symptoms. Sleep likely makes an important contribution to these divergent outcomes. Sleep disturbances are common, distressing symptoms of PTSD and early reactions to trauma. Disturbed sleep can reinforce the trauma memory via nightmares and contribute to fatigue and irritability. Conversely, intact sleep has restorative functions, including a hypothesized adaptive role in processing emotional memory. In the initial RO-1 funded study, we found that reports of dreams with content that is similar to memories of the traumatic experience are strongly associated with the early development of PTSD as well as evidence suggesting a relationship of fragmented patterns of REM sleep of PTSD.
The aims of this grant are to extend these findings and further the role of sleep and associated functions of memory processing in the early development of PTSD. Patients who were conscious and alert on arrival to the ED and are without brain injury and intoxication are recruited from trauma surgical and ED services fllowing life threatening experiences. Following initial assessment, participants who meet criteria and are willing, receive polysomnography and/or a test of overnight memory processing. The study will soon begin its fourth of five years of designated funding. The research has been conducted at Dartmouth and the University of Miami as a subcontractee. The Principal Investigator has recently relocated to Howard University. This application requested and received a transfer of the study grant to Howard University and maintains Dartmouth as the second research site through a subcontract.
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