0110 Fluctuations Across the Menstrual Cycle in Cardiac Autonomic Activity During Sleep and Wake May Affect Memory Consolidation. (27th May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sattari, N; Simon, K; Mednick, S
• Is Part Of: Sleep. Volume 43(2020)Supplement 1
• Page Start: A43
• Page End: A44
• Publication Date: 2020-05-27
• Subjects: Sleep -- Physiological aspects -- Periodicals; Sleep disorders -- Periodicals; Sommeil -- Aspect physiologique -- Périodiques; Sommeil, Troubles du -- Périodiques; Sleep disorders; Sleep -- Physiological aspects; Sleep -- physiological aspects; Sleep Wake Disorders; Psychophysiology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 616.8498
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.108
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0161-8105

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Prior studies have shown that benefits of sleep for memory consolidation may be influenced by menstrual phase. Menstrual phase also impact autonomic regulation during sleep, and autonomic activity has been recently shown to play a role in sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Methods: We investigated the interaction of menstrual cycle and autonomic activity measured by heart rate-variability (HRV) on sleep-dependent memory consolidation among 18-healthy females. Using a within-subjects design, we investigated episodic memory improvement with a nap paradigm during two phases of women's menstrual cycle: 1) perimenses: −5 to +5 days from menses-onset, and 2) non-perimenses: window outside of perimenses. Subjects completed the memory test before (Test1) and after (Test2) a 90-minute polysomnographically (PSG)-recorded nap. We recorded sleep and HRV during 5-minutes of wake, and during the nap. Next, we compared sleep, HRV (RMSSD and HFnu), and memory performance between the two menstrual phases. Results: Sleep architecture did not differ between perimenses and non-perimenses. Women performed similarly on the memory task at Test 1 (all p s>.061), but at Test 2, non-perimenses showed better performance ( p = 0.02). Autonomically, perimenses had higher parasympathetic activity during wake (RMSSD- p = 0.04) and REM-sleep (HFnu- p = 0.04), compared with non-perimenses. Using bivariate correlations, we found positive associations between wake-HFnu and memory improvement ( p = .02) during perimenses. In contrast, non-perimenses' memory improvement was negatively correlated with wake-RMSSD ( p <.001). In perimenses, memory improvement was also positively associtated with REM-HFnu ( p = .04). No associations were found between autonomic sleep activity and memory in non-perimenses phase. Conclusion: Our findings indicate a role for autonomic activity in memory improvement in both sleep and wake that is modulated by the menstrual cycle. HRV measures of parasympathetic activity were higher during perimenses phase in wake and REM-sleep. Interestingly, the HRV measures showed opposing relations with memory improvement based on the phase of the menstrual cycle. In sum, women's cardiac autonomic activity fluctuates by menstrual phase and it is possible that these fluctuations affect the magnitude and direction of sleep-related memory consolidation. Support: Sattari et al., 2017; Genzel et al., 2012; de Zambotti et al., 2013; Whitehurst et al., 2016.