Interest of neurofeedback training for cognitive performance and risk of brain disorders in the military context.

Operational environments are characterized by a range of psycho-physiological constraints that can degrade combatants' performance and impact on their long-term health. Neurofeedback training (NFT), a non-invasive, safe and effective means of regulating brain activity, has been shown to be effective for mental disorders, as well as for cognitive and motor capacities and aiding sports performance in healthy individuals. Its value in helping soldiers in operational condition or suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTSD) is undeniable, but relatively unexplored.

Isolated and Combined Effects of Moderate Normobaric Hypoxia and Sleep Restriction on Energy Intake and Food Reward.

Hypoxia (HY) and sleep deprivation have opposite effects on appetite. As HY may alter sleep, it may be informative to assess the accumulative effects of these two stressors on hunger, energy intake (EI), and food reward. Seventeen young, active, healthy males completed four 5-hr sessions in normoxia (NO) or normobaric HY (FIO2 = 13.

Cognitive performance during exposure to moderate normobaric hypoxia after sleep restriction: Relationship to physiological and stress biomarkers.

Introduction: Exposure to moderate levels of simulated hypoxia has subtle cognitive effects relative to ground level, in healthy individuals. However, there are few data on the cognitive consequences of the combination of hypoxia and partial sleep deprivation, which is a classic military or civilian operational context. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to moderate hypoxia while sleep-restricted impairs several domains of cognition, and we also assessed physiological parameters and salivary concentrations of cortisol and alpha-amylase.

Combined Effects of Moderate Hypoxia and Sleep Restriction on Mental Workload.

Aircraft pilots face a high mental workload (MW) under environmental constraints induced by high altitude and sometimes sleep restriction (SR). Our aim was to assess the combined effects of hypoxia and sleep restriction on cognitive and physiological responses to different MW levels using the Multi-Attribute Test Battery (MATB)-II with an additional auditory Oddball-like task. Seventeen healthy subjects were subjected in random order to three 12-min periods of increased MW level (low, medium, and high): sleep restriction (SR, <3 h of total sleep time (TST)) vs.

MATB for assessing different mental workload levels.

Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB) is a computerized flight simulator for aviation-related tasks, suitable for non-pilots and available in many versions, including open source. MATB requires the individual or simultaneous execution of 4 sub-tasks: system monitoring (SYSMON), tracking (TRACK), communications (COMM), and resource management (RESMAN). Fully customizable, the design of test duration, number of sub-tasks used, event rates, response times and overlap, create different levels of mental load.

Beneficial Effects of Photoperiod Lengthening on Sleep Characteristics and Mechanical Hyperalgesia in Injured Rats.

Sleep and muscle injury-related pain are in negative relationship, and sleep extension may be a favorable countermeasure. In response to muscle injury, an adaptive sleep response has been described in rats, characterized by an increase in total sleep time (TST) and nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. This study examined the effects of photoperiod lengthening (a model of sleep prolongation in rats) on the sleep characteristics of muscle-injured rats and whether this lengthening could benefit injury-induced mechanical hyperalgesia using the Von Frey test.

Effects of Acute Caffeine Intake on Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Responses to Total Sleep Deprivation: Interactions with COMT Polymorphism - A Randomized, Crossover Study.

Introduction: Genes encoding catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) and adenosine A2A receptor (ADORA2A) have been shown to influence cognitive performances and responses to caffeine intake during prolonged wakefulness. The rs4680 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of COMT differentiates on memory score and circulating levels of the neurotrophic factor IGF-1. This study aimed to determine the kinetics of IGF-1, testosterone, and cortisol concentrations during prolonged wakefulness under caffeine or placebo intake in 37 healthy participants, and to analyze whether the responses are dependent on COMT rs4680 or ADORA2A rs5751876 SNPs.

Muscle injury induces an increase in total and non-rapid eye movement sleep time.

Study Objectives: This study describes macro- and micro-sleep responses to a myotoxic skeletal muscle injury and investigates possible mechanisms.

Methods: We recorded the electroencephalogram (EEG)/electromyogram (EMG) of 24 Wistar rats before and after induction of tibialis anterior muscle injury (n = 8 per group: control, control + buprenorphine and injured). A top-down analysis of sleep characteristics was processed from total sleep time (TST), sleep stages, sleep stability, spectral analysis, and spindles.

Clinical description of sleep and trauma-related nightmares in a population of French active-duty members and veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major public health problem. The most frequent complaints in this pathology are sleep disorders and trauma-related nightmares in particular. Trauma-related nightmares are characteristic of PTSD and impact its severity insofar as they are associated with more severe, longer-lasting symptoms and resistance to first-line treatments.

The polymorphism contributes to the carotid body chemoreflex in European sea-level residents by regulating hypoxic ventilatory responses.

This study investigates whether a functional single nucleotide polymorphism of (heme oxygenase-2) (rs4786504 T>C) is involved in individual chemosensitivity to acute hypoxia, as assessed by ventilatory responses, in European individuals. These responses were obtained at rest and during submaximal exercise, using a standardized and validated protocol for exposure to acute normobaric hypoxia. Carriers of the ancestral T allele ( = 44) have significantly lower resting and exercise hypoxic ventilatory responses than C/C homozygous carriers ( = 40).

Relationship between genetic polymorphisms of cytokines and self-reported sleep complaints and habitual caffeine consumption.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines are involved in sleep-wake regulation and are associated with caffeine consumption. This is a cross-sectional study in 1023 active French workers investigating associations between self-reported sleep complaints (>3months) and total sleep time (TST) with nine single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs) including pro-inflammatory cytokines, according to caffeine consumption. Participants were characterized as low, moderate and high (0-50, 51-300, and >300 mg/day) caffeine consumers.

Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Preliminary Validation of a French Version of the Trauma-Related Nightmare Survey (TRNS-FR) in a PTSD Veteran Population.

Introduction: In the military population, trauma-related nightmares (TRNs) are highly associated with deployments and combat-related events. Trauma-related nightmares are also correlated with severity, treatment resistance, and chronicity of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, to date, no specific measure of TRNs has been validated for use in the French language.

Effects of Caffeine Intake on Cognitive Performance Related to Total Sleep Deprivation and Time on Task: A Randomized Cross-Over Double-Blind Study.

Introduction: It is widely admitted that both total sleep deprivation (TSD) and extended task engagement (Time-On-Task, TOT) induce a cognitive fatigue state in healthy subjects. Even if EEG theta activity and adenosine both increase with cognitive fatigue, it remains unclear if these modifications are common mechanisms for both sustained attention and executive processes.

Methods: We performed a double-blind counter-balanced (placebo (PCBO) and caffeine (CAF) - 2×2.

Strategies to Limit Cognitive Impairments under Sleep Restriction: Relationship to Stress Biomarkers.

Adding relaxation techniques during nap or auditory stimulation of EEG slow oscillation (SO) during nighttime sleep may limit cognitive impairments in sleep-deprived subjects, potentially through alleviating stress-releasing effects. We compared daytime sleepiness, cognitive performances, and salivary stress biomarker responses in 11 volunteers (aged 18-36) who underwent 5 days of sleep restriction (SR, 3 h per night, with 30 min of daily nap) under three successive conditions: control (SR-CT), relaxation techniques added to daily nap (SR-RT), and auditory stimulation of sleep slow oscillations (SO) during nighttime sleep (SR-NS). Test evaluation was performed at baseline (BASE), the fifth day of chronic SR (SR5), and the third and fifth days after sleep recovery (REC3, REC5, respectively).

"You look sleepy…" The impact of sleep restriction on skin parameters and facial appearance of 24 women.

Background: Total sleep deprivation has a visible impact on subjective facial appearance. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how moderate sleep restriction objectively impairs skin quality and facial aspect.

Methods: Twenty-four healthy good-sleeping women, aged 30-55, volunteered for this study on the impact of sleep restriction (SR) on their facial skin.

Genetics and Cognitive Vulnerability to Sleep Deprivation in Healthy Subjects: Interaction of ADORA2A, TNF-α and COMT Polymorphisms.

Several genetic polymorphisms differentiate between healthy individuals who are more cognitively vulnerable or resistant during total sleep deprivation (TSD). Common metrics of cognitive functioning for classifying vulnerable and resilient individuals include the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), Go/noGo executive inhibition task, and subjective daytime sleepiness. We evaluated the influence of 14 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on cognitive responses during total sleep deprivation (continuous wakefulness for 38 h) in 47 healthy subjects (age 37.

How does sleep help recovery from exercise-induced muscle injuries?

Objectives: Athletes and military personnel may experience sleep disturbances due to conditions of training and competitions or military missions/field operations. The risk of muscle injuries is greater for them when sleep duration decreases, and training load increases simultaneously, which can be exacerbated by fatigue. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that sleep extension improved performance, pain sensitivity and GH/IGF-I anabolic responses, which may be beneficial in accelerating recovery from muscle injuries.