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0 / 29 Fotos
Mental illness and intrusive thoughts - For some time now, mental illness has been associated with intrusive thoughts and the uncomfortable and distracting emotions that go with them.
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1 / 29 Fotos
Clear link - Indeed, studies have shown a clear link between debilitating intrusive thoughts and mental illnesses, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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2 / 29 Fotos
Intrusive thoughts and sleep deprivation - Intrusive thoughts, in turn, have been linked with sleep deprivation. Studies show that someone who is well rested can generally suppress a negative memory quite quickly.
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3 / 29 Fotos
Insomnia
- Someone who struggles with insomnia, on the other hand, may find it difficult to suppress the same memory and it may continue to bother them for a long time.
© Shutterstock
4 / 29 Fotos
Missing piece of the puzzle
- Until recently, scientists were puzzled as to why exactly sleep deprivation contributes to intrusive thoughts, i.e. what is actually going on in the brain?
© Shutterstock
5 / 29 Fotos
Finding answers
- Thanks to a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, we now have more insights.
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6 / 29 Fotos
Aim of the study - The aim of the study was to determine whether the brain's right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) is negatively impacted by intrusive thoughts.
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7 / 29 Fotos
The rDLPFC
- As previous studies have shown, the rDLPFC is responsible for suppressing the retrieval process of memories. The retrieval itself happens in a different part of the brain: the hippocampus.
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8 / 29 Fotos
The hypothesis
- The researchers hypothesized that not getting enough sleep inhibits the ability of the rDLPFC to suppress unwanted memories, and therefore contributes to intrusive thoughts.
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9 / 29 Fotos
Testing the hypothesis
- In order to test their hypothesis, the researchers recruited a group of 85 students and trained them to associate neutral faces with specific images, some of which were negative, such as a car crash.
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10 / 29 Fotos
Creating connections
- The aim was for the students to create a mental connection between the faces and the images, so that when they were shown the face in isolation, an automatic memory retrieval process would occur.
© Shutterstock
11 / 29 Fotos
Two groups
- The students were then divided into two groups. The first group was made to stay up all night, while the other group was sent to sleep in a lab.
© Shutterstock
12 / 29 Fotos
Monitoring
- The sleeping students were monitored for how much time they spent in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep.
© Shutterstock
13 / 29 Fotos
In the morning
- In the morning, all the participants were shown images of the faces they had seen in training, and they were asked either to think about the associated memory or repress it.
© Shutterstock
14 / 29 Fotos
fMRI imaging
- Throughout the task, researchers used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner to measure the students' brain activity.
© Shutterstock
15 / 29 Fotos
The results
- The fMRI results confirmed the team's hypothesis: compared with the students who had slept, those who stayed up all night had significantly lower rDLPFC activity when they were asked to suppress intrusive thoughts.
© Shutterstock
16 / 29 Fotos
Elevated hippocampus activity
- In fact, activity in their hippocampus was shown to be elevated, most likely because the rDLPFC was not managing to shut down the retrieval process.
© Shutterstock
17 / 29 Fotos
Important to note
- According to Scott Cairney, one of the researchers on the study, these findings do not suggest that sleep deprivation causes a general decline in brain activity.
© Shutterstock
18 / 29 Fotos
What the results suggest
- Rather, the results suggest that not getting enough sleep can negatively affect specific parts of the brain that are involved in executive function.
© Shutterstock
19 / 29 Fotos
Other findings
- Another interesting finding of the study was related to the participants who had slept through the night.
© Shutterstock
20 / 29 Fotos
The importance of REM sleep - The data shows that there was a positive correlation between the amount of time the participants spent in REM sleep and the level of rDLPFC activity, specifically when it came to the memory suppression task.
© Shutterstock
21 / 29 Fotos
Interesting finding - According to the team, this is particularly interesting since many mental health disorders that are associated with intrusive thoughts, such as depression and PTSD, are also associated with disturbed REM sleep.
© Shutterstock
22 / 29 Fotos
Expert opinions
- Various experts in the field have taken time to give their thoughts on the findings of the study. One such expert is Zara Bergstrom, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Kent in England.
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23 / 29 Fotos
"Intriguing" results - According to Bergstrom, the results of the study are "intriguing," and they seem to suggest that REM sleep plays a key role in the process of maintaining adequate memory control.
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24 / 29 Fotos
Important caveat
- However, she also adds that in order to determine whether REM sleep has a causal role in controlling memories and thoughts, we will need further research that manipulates sleep directly.
© Shutterstock
25 / 29 Fotos
Implications for therapy
- According to Maria Wimber, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Glasgow, the study results may also have the potential to inform therapeutic approaches.
© Shutterstock
26 / 29 Fotos
Enhancing REM sleep
- According to Wimber, treatments that enhance REM sleep could become part of the therapy for disorders that are associated with intrusive thoughts, such as PTSD.
© Shutterstock
27 / 29 Fotos
Treating acute trauma
- The same interventions may even be used for acute trauma as a possible preventative measure to make sure that upsetting memories and flashbacks never emerge in the first place. Sources: (Scientific American)
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
© Shutterstock
0 / 29 Fotos
Mental illness and intrusive thoughts - For some time now, mental illness has been associated with intrusive thoughts and the uncomfortable and distracting emotions that go with them.
© Shutterstock
1 / 29 Fotos
Clear link - Indeed, studies have shown a clear link between debilitating intrusive thoughts and mental illnesses, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
© Shutterstock
2 / 29 Fotos
Intrusive thoughts and sleep deprivation - Intrusive thoughts, in turn, have been linked with sleep deprivation. Studies show that someone who is well rested can generally suppress a negative memory quite quickly.
© Shutterstock
3 / 29 Fotos
Insomnia
- Someone who struggles with insomnia, on the other hand, may find it difficult to suppress the same memory and it may continue to bother them for a long time.
© Shutterstock
4 / 29 Fotos
Missing piece of the puzzle
- Until recently, scientists were puzzled as to why exactly sleep deprivation contributes to intrusive thoughts, i.e. what is actually going on in the brain?
© Shutterstock
5 / 29 Fotos
Finding answers
- Thanks to a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, we now have more insights.
© Shutterstock
6 / 29 Fotos
Aim of the study - The aim of the study was to determine whether the brain's right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) is negatively impacted by intrusive thoughts.
© Shutterstock
7 / 29 Fotos
The rDLPFC
- As previous studies have shown, the rDLPFC is responsible for suppressing the retrieval process of memories. The retrieval itself happens in a different part of the brain: the hippocampus.
© Shutterstock
8 / 29 Fotos
The hypothesis
- The researchers hypothesized that not getting enough sleep inhibits the ability of the rDLPFC to suppress unwanted memories, and therefore contributes to intrusive thoughts.
© Shutterstock
9 / 29 Fotos
Testing the hypothesis
- In order to test their hypothesis, the researchers recruited a group of 85 students and trained them to associate neutral faces with specific images, some of which were negative, such as a car crash.
© Shutterstock
10 / 29 Fotos
Creating connections
- The aim was for the students to create a mental connection between the faces and the images, so that when they were shown the face in isolation, an automatic memory retrieval process would occur.
© Shutterstock
11 / 29 Fotos
Two groups
- The students were then divided into two groups. The first group was made to stay up all night, while the other group was sent to sleep in a lab.
© Shutterstock
12 / 29 Fotos
Monitoring
- The sleeping students were monitored for how much time they spent in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep.
© Shutterstock
13 / 29 Fotos
In the morning
- In the morning, all the participants were shown images of the faces they had seen in training, and they were asked either to think about the associated memory or repress it.
© Shutterstock
14 / 29 Fotos
fMRI imaging
- Throughout the task, researchers used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner to measure the students' brain activity.
© Shutterstock
15 / 29 Fotos
The results
- The fMRI results confirmed the team's hypothesis: compared with the students who had slept, those who stayed up all night had significantly lower rDLPFC activity when they were asked to suppress intrusive thoughts.
© Shutterstock
16 / 29 Fotos
Elevated hippocampus activity
- In fact, activity in their hippocampus was shown to be elevated, most likely because the rDLPFC was not managing to shut down the retrieval process.
© Shutterstock
17 / 29 Fotos
Important to note
- According to Scott Cairney, one of the researchers on the study, these findings do not suggest that sleep deprivation causes a general decline in brain activity.
© Shutterstock
18 / 29 Fotos
What the results suggest
- Rather, the results suggest that not getting enough sleep can negatively affect specific parts of the brain that are involved in executive function.
© Shutterstock
19 / 29 Fotos
Other findings
- Another interesting finding of the study was related to the participants who had slept through the night.
© Shutterstock
20 / 29 Fotos
The importance of REM sleep - The data shows that there was a positive correlation between the amount of time the participants spent in REM sleep and the level of rDLPFC activity, specifically when it came to the memory suppression task.
© Shutterstock
21 / 29 Fotos
Interesting finding - According to the team, this is particularly interesting since many mental health disorders that are associated with intrusive thoughts, such as depression and PTSD, are also associated with disturbed REM sleep.
© Shutterstock
22 / 29 Fotos
Expert opinions
- Various experts in the field have taken time to give their thoughts on the findings of the study. One such expert is Zara Bergstrom, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Kent in England.
© Shutterstock
23 / 29 Fotos
"Intriguing" results - According to Bergstrom, the results of the study are "intriguing," and they seem to suggest that REM sleep plays a key role in the process of maintaining adequate memory control.
© Shutterstock
24 / 29 Fotos
Important caveat
- However, she also adds that in order to determine whether REM sleep has a causal role in controlling memories and thoughts, we will need further research that manipulates sleep directly.
© Shutterstock
25 / 29 Fotos
Implications for therapy
- According to Maria Wimber, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Glasgow, the study results may also have the potential to inform therapeutic approaches.
© Shutterstock
26 / 29 Fotos
Enhancing REM sleep
- According to Wimber, treatments that enhance REM sleep could become part of the therapy for disorders that are associated with intrusive thoughts, such as PTSD.
© Shutterstock
27 / 29 Fotos
Treating acute trauma
- The same interventions may even be used for acute trauma as a possible preventative measure to make sure that upsetting memories and flashbacks never emerge in the first place. Sources: (Scientific American)
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
How a lack of sleep can cause intrusive thoughts
A new study reveals a reason for the link
© Shutterstock
For quite some time now, scientists have been aware that there is a link between sleep deprivation and intrusive thoughts. The big question, however, is why that's the case.
According to a new study, the answer has to do with a part of the brain called the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for suppressing memories, and when it slacks off we tend to suffer from more intrusive thoughts.
Curious? Check out this gallery to find out more.
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