Korman, Matija.
(2014).
The role of sleep in regulation of emotional reactivity.
Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Psychology.
[mentor Tadinac, Meri].
Abstract
Positive influence of sleep on consolidation of emotional memories has been well established. However, the role of sleep in regulating the affective tone of consolidated memory is still unclear. Walker et al. in their Sleep to remember, sleep to forget hypothesis suggest that REM sleep, parallelly to consolidation process, separates the memory from its affective tone, making it less emotionally arousing. In this study this hypothesis was tested using the nap paradigm. Thirty six participants rated the intensity of subjective emotional reaction to emotionally arousing IAPS pictures (International Affective Picture System) of positive and negative valence before and after 90 minute period of sleep or wakefulness. In order to test whether this effect was strictly bound to memories, new IAPS pictures were also rated in the final measurement. A mixed ANOVA was used to test the effects of group, measurement, and valence on emotional reactivity. Results showed habituation to IAPS pictures in the second measurement, but this reduction in emotional reactivity was the same in both groups, that is, contrary to expectations, it was not bigger in the group that had slept. Groups did not differ in emotional reactivity to new pictures. These results are in agreement with other studies which point out that one period of (short daytime) sleep is not sufficient to attenuate a subjective emotional reaction to remembered emotional content.
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