0062 Rapid-Eye Movement Sleep and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor as Predictors of Stress Resilience and Vulnerability

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2019-04, Vol.42 (Supplement_1), p.A26-A26
• Main Authors: Williams, Brook L, Sutton, Amy, Wellman, Laurie, Sanford, Larry D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Body temperature; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Eye movements; Post traumatic stress disorder; REM sleep; Rodents; Sleep
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsz067.061

Introduction Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects approximately 24 million people in America, and sleep disturbances are the primary symptoms. However, only approximately 20% of individuals exposed to trauma develop chronic problems with sleep indicating individual differences in stress-induced sleep changes. Currently, no methods exist to predict individual differences in stress responding prior to stressor exposure. In this project, we examined REM changes after mild and intense stress as an index of stress resilience or vulnerability. Methods Male rats were implanted with electrodes for sleep recording and a datalogger to record body temperature. Rats were habituated to the necessary handling and tethering procedures. Baseline sleep was recorded on day 1. On day 3, rats were placed in a novel chamber (NC) and sleep was recorded. On day 4, rats were placed in a shock chamber and received shock training (ST: 20 footshocks over 30 minutes) and sleep was recorded. Animals were separated into vulnerable (Vul, n=21) and resilient (Res, n=25)groups based on whether or not they had a 50% or greater reduction in REM in the first 4 hours of sleep post-ST respectively. Blood plasma was obtained to measure BDNF. Results Analysis of the first 4 hours of sleep showed baseline REM was not significantly different between groups. Post-NC REM was significantly lower (p