Sleep, declarative memory, and PTSD: Current status and future directions

Abstract

Healthy sleep plays a vital role in the encoding and consolidation of newly acquired memories. Individuals diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do not, typically, experience healthy sleep, with disruptions at both REM and NREM stages. Furthermore, from a clinical neuropsychological perspective, the diagnosis of PTSD is also associated with marked memory impairment. Few empirical studies have, however, explored possible associations between disrupted sleep and impaired memory in PTSD. In this chapter, we will review (a) models of memory processing during sleep in healthy individuals and (b) characteristics of sleep- and declarative memory-related impairments in PTSD-diagnosed individuals. We will propose that disrupted sleep is a critical mechanism underlying memory impairments in PTSD.