A study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Irvine found a connection between the frequency of sleep apnea events during the rapid-eye-movement stage and the severity of verbal memory impairment in older adults who are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Verbal memory is the ability to retain and recall information that is presented through spoken words or written text, and it is particularly susceptible to Alzheimer’s. The study revealed the impact of sleep apnea on verbal memory impairment in older adults.k for Alzheimer’s disease. Verbal memory is the cognitive ability to remember and recall information presented through spoken or written words, and is especially susceptible to Alzheimer’s. The study, which was recently published online in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, found a direct link between the severity of sleep apnea (breathing pauses during sleep) and cognitive decline. Higher ratios of REM to non-REM sleep were linked to poorer memory performance. “Our findings identified the specific features of sleep apnea that contribute to memory deficits,” said the researchers.Memory is closely linked to sleep, and it’s important to recognize that events occurring during REM sleep are often downplayed,” explained Bryce Mander, UC Irvine associate professor of psychiatry & human behavior. “Most of the sleeping hours are spent in non-REM sleep, so the average severity of apnea can appear lower than it actually is during REM sleep. This means that individuals at risk may be incorrectly diagnosed and receive inadequate treatment because current assessment standards do not focus on the severity of sleep-stage-specific apnea.”
“Additionally,” added Ruth Benca, professor and chair of psychiatry, “it’s crucial to consider the specific stage of sleep when evaluating the severity of apnea.A research team at Wake Forest University School of Medicine discovered that women have a higher chance of experiencing more apneic events during REM sleep compared to men. This may be a contributing factor to their increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study included 81 middle-aged and older adults with elevated risk for Alzheimer’s from the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, with 62 percent of the participants being female. The participants underwent polysomnography, a thorough test that monitors various activities during sleep, such as brain waves, eye movements, muscle activity, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and breathing.The study focused on memory assessments and found that apnea events during REM sleep are a key contributing factor to verbal memory decline, particularly for individuals with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s and those with a family history of the disease. ”Our research emphasizes the complex connection between sleep apnea, memory function, and Alzheimer’s risk,” stated Mander. “Recognizing and addressing REM-specific events is essential for developing proactive, personalized assessment and treatment approaches that are tailored to individual sleep patterns.” The team also included lead author Kitty K. Lui, a graduate student in the San D.The joint doctoral program in clinical psychology at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego involves faculty and graduate students from UC Irvine, UC San Diego, the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and the University of Kentucky.
This research received support from the National Institute on Aging through grants R56 AG052698, R01 AG027161, R01 AG021155, ADRC P50 AG033514, R01 AG037639, and K01 AG068353; from the National Institutes of Health’s Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award F31 AG048732; and from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences’ Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program under gr.Ant UL1TR000427.
