Post-Extinction Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Impairs Retention of Fear Extinction Memories in Primary Insomnia, but Not Healthy Controls

REM sleep facilitates emotional memory consolidation. We found that REM sleep in Primary Insomnia – a disorder characterized by chronic poor and fragmented sleep – negatively impacts fear-extinction memory – a deficit common with anxiety disorders. We propose impaired extinction retention as a pathophysiological commonality of insomnia and anxiety disorders.