The Effect of Postexposure Sleep Deprivation on Anxiety‐Related Behaviours and Hippocampal Neuropathological Changes in a Rat Model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

English (OpenAlex)

Sleep problems are a hallmark of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although the critical role of sleep for memory consolidation is well known, there is no consensus on the effect of sleep interruption or increased sleep duration immediately after a traumatic experience on the development of PTSD. In addition, the effect of the loss of specific sleep stages postexposure on the development of PTSD is not fully elucidated. Using the single prolonged stress (SPS) procedure, we aimed to determine the effect of postexposure REM sleep deprivation (REMSD) or total sleep deprivation (TSD) on memory function, anxiety-related behaviours and related biochemical parameters. Fear and anxiety-like behaviour, hippocampal BDNF and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) levels in animals exposed to SPS alone or to the combination of SPS + REMSD or SPS + TSD were tested against a group of unexposed control animals. In our study, we found that SPS rats had impaired memory formation and performed poorly on anxiety-related behaviours. The effects of REMSD or TSD on anxiety-related behaviours after SPS were similar and did not result in a significant improvement. Furthermore, posttraumatic TSD further reduced the SPS-induced decrease in hippocampal BDNF expression, while it also increased hippocampal AChE levels to a similar extent. These findings underscore the importance of sleep as a focus for ongoing research into the pathogenesis of PTSD, and the fact that eliminating specific REM or total sleep immediately after trauma exposure has limited effects on the development of PTSD.