With the REST study (REgistering Sleep during Trauma treatment) Hein van Marle aims to translate basic findings on the role of sleep in emotional memory to the patient-level in PTSD.

A growing literature highlights the role of sleep in emotional regulation and memory. These findings suggest that sleep is essential in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this Amsterdam Neuroscience Alliance project, Hein van Marle is out to identify the role of sleep in ongoing PTSD treatment by assessing the day-to-day interrelatedness between different sleep parameters (like duration of slow wave sleep, sleep spindle count and REM-fragmentation) and treatment outcome during an existing 5-day PTSD treatment program. Sleep will be registered every night using a single-lead ambulatory EEG-device.

Findings from the project may guide the development of new, sleep-related interventions in PTSD, like EEG-guided sleep deepening and pharmacological strategies to consolidate REM-sleep.