Sleep-related memory consolidation during pregnancy

Project Details

Description

Most pregnant women experience difficulties with both memory function and sleep, but systematic studies on these phenomena and their assumed interdependence are scarce.
Given the beneficial role of sleep for memory consolidation, we hypothesize that memory deficits emerging during pregnancy are not only related to physical and hormonal changes, but also to changes in subjective and objective sleep quality. We will conduct a 12-month study with 20 pregnant women (18-30 years), measuring their sleep, hormones, and memory performance (i) in the 1st, (ii) 2nd, (iii), and 3rd trimester of pregnancy as well as (iv) 3 and (v) 6 months after pregnancy. 20 age-matched, non-pregnant women will serve as a control group and be tested over the same time. Daily, we will assess sleep quality and quantity using sleep diaries and actigraphy across the whole 12 months. Further, we will record ambulatory polysomnography (i.e., measurement of brain activity, eye movements, muscle activity and heart rate variability) for 10 nights (5 blocks of two consecutive nights over 12 months) and conduct various memory tasks. Additionally, we will collect saliva samples to analyse sex hormone (estradiol, progesterone) and cortisol levels before, during and after memory tasks, as well as before and after sleep. We expect to find impairments in subjective and objective sleep measures as well as in sleep-dependent memory consolidation processes in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women and assume that sleep and memory deteriorations are directly associated. Furthermore, we hypothesize that hormonal changes during pregnancy mediate these relationships. With the help of our multi-professional team of sleep researchers and cognitive psychologists (Kerstin Hödlmoser, Christina Plamberger), psychoneuroendocrinologists (Manfred Hallschmid, Hubert Kerschbaum, Belinda Pletzer), an expert in obstetrics and gynaecology (Sarah England), and a statistician (Wolfgang Trutschnig) our project aims to make a significant contribution to understanding the effects of sleep and hormonal changes on memory performance during pregnancy.
Short titleSleep and memory during pregnancy
AcronymSLORY-MUM
StatusActive
Effective start/end date1/05/2330/04/27

Keywords

  • sleep
  • memory
  • EEG
  • hormones
  • pregnancy

Fields of Science and Technology Classification 2012

  • 302 Clinical Medicine
  • 301 Medical-Theoretical Sciences, Pharmacy
  • 501 Psychology