Papers by Jessica Lara-Carrasco
Sleep, 2010
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doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00551 Maternal representations in the dreams of pregnant women: a prospec... more doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00551 Maternal representations in the dreams of pregnant women: a prospective comparative study
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According to many perinatal health care professionals, dreams are more frequent and disturbed dur... more According to many perinatal health care professionals, dreams are more frequent and disturbed during pregnancy. Some suggest that in being more vivid, realistic and impactful than during any other period of life, pregnancy dreams might increase women’s awareness to their intrapsychic world and therefore facilitate the resolution of past relational issues. Other clinicians suggest that dreams during pregnancy might help women to integrate their maternal role through the elaboration of various mental representations, such as the future mother-baby relationship. While these notions have been frequently mentioned in the clinical literature, empirical evidence is lacking. The first objective of this thesis was to provide a better description of changes occurring in the dreams of the third trimester (≥26 weeks) of a first pregnancy, using measures of dream recall, dysphoric dreams prevalence, and dream content. Our results show—for the first time—that when pregnant women’s dreams are pros...
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Abstract 1. A satisfactory explanation of nightmares remains elusive. Theorists since Freud have ... more Abstract 1. A satisfactory explanation of nightmares remains elusive. Theorists since Freud have speculated on mechanisms that produce nightmares, but no single, widely accepted explanation has emerged (see Nielsen & Levin, 2007b; Levin & Nielsen, 2007). This continuing uncertainty stems, in part, from the fact that nightmares, like dreams more generally, are expressions of human emotional memory--which itself is a complex and intransigent phenomenon. The inner workings of emotional memory have yet to be ...
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Sleep Medicine, 2013
Introduction Sleep disturbances during pregnancy affect delivery outcomes, including shorter preg... more Introduction Sleep disturbances during pregnancy affect delivery outcomes, including shorter pregnancies and longer labour (Okun, 2009). Studies also reveal associations between recall of negative dreams and shorter labour (Mancuso et al., 2008; Winget and Kapp, 1972). However, prospective longitudinal studies assessing the value of pregnancy dreams in predicting delivery outcomes are lacking. Whether dream measures constitute better predictors of delivery outcomes than do sleep measures also remains to be determined. This 2-stage longitudinal study assessed whether prospective dream measures during pregnancy (Time-1; T1) predict delivery outcomes (Time-2; T2) controlling for pregnancy, sleep and psychosocial risk factors. Materials and methods Fifty-two 3rd trimester pregnant women ( M = 29.78 ± 3.62 wks of gestation) aged 18–37 years ( M = 28.48 ± 4.06 yrs) and not planning to undergo caesarean sections were followed-up post-delivery. At T1, pregnant women completed demographic and psychological questionnaires and a 14-day home log to assess sleep/dream characteristics. Gestational length and labour duration were assessed at T2. Deliveries occurred at 36–42 weeks of gestation ( M = 39.29 ± 1.46); labour lasted 1–40 h ( M = 13.62 ± 8.99). Four women had unplanned caesareans; their labour duration did not differ from women who delivered vaginally ( M = 13.40 ± 9.28 vs. 16.25 ± 0.03; p = 0.60). Two sets of hierarchical multiple regression analyses were run to predict delivery outcomes from pregnancy dream variables (#dreams, positive–negative dreams ratio, dream clarity, dream impact), controlling for sleep (duration, quality, bedtime/rise time, night awakenings), demographic (age, employment status, family income, education) and psychosocial (mood/concerns, stress, history of emotional problems) characteristics. All demographic variables, prenatal psychosocial factors and sleep variables associated with outcomes at p Results More negative dreams during pregnancy predicted shorter gestation (Beta = −0.61, p = 0.00002); no adjustment was required. Controlling for age, education, stress and sleep duration, later bedtime/rise time predicted longer labour (Beta = 0.28, p = 0.04). Conclusion The study provides new evidence that pregnant women who report more negative dreams are at greater risk for shorter pregnancies. Results are also consistent with the possibility that chronotype mediates relationships between sleep and labour duration. Acknowledgement Research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
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Neurobiology of learning and memory, Jan 5, 2014
Memory consolidation is associated with sleep physiology but the contribution of specific sleep s... more Memory consolidation is associated with sleep physiology but the contribution of specific sleep stages remains controversial. To clarify the contribution of REM sleep, participants were administered two REM sleep-sensitive tasks to determine if associated changes occurred only in REM sleep. Twenty-two participants (7 men) were administered the Corsi Block Tapping and Tower of Hanoi tasks prior to and again after a night of sleep. Task improvers and non-improvers were compared for sleep structure, sleep spindles, and dream recall. Control participants (N=15) completed the tasks twice during the day without intervening sleep. Overnight Corsi Block improvement was associated with more REM sleep whereas Tower of Hanoi improvement was associated with more N2 sleep. Corsi Block improvement correlated positively with %REM sleep and Tower of Hanoi improvement with %N2 sleep. Post-hoc analyses suggest Tower of Hanoi effects-but not Corsi Block effects-are due to trait differences. Sleep spin...
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Sleep, 2005
Sleep onset (SO) is cognitively and physiologically similar to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, su... more Sleep onset (SO) is cognitively and physiologically similar to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, supporting the notion that REM sleep-related processes are 'covertly' active at this time. The objective was to determine if SO mentation is sensitive to REM sleep deprivation. Two-group cross-sectional design; sleep recordings for 3 nights. Standard sleep laboratory with 24-channel polysomnography recording. Fourteen female, 13 male healthy volunteers (18-41 yrs, mean=24.8 +/- 6.07). On Night 2, half were and half were not partially REM sleep-deprived (REMD), recalled REM mentation, and rated it for dream-like quality (DLQ), sleepiness, and sensory attributes. On Night 3, all were awakened from SO substages 4 and 5 for mentation reports and further ratings. REMD measures were derived from scored sleep tracings. REMD produced increases in DLQ for both REM and SO reports (P < .05); DLQ scores were higher for REM than for SO mentation (P < .001). Covarying sleepiness preserved ...
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Sleep Medicine, 2011
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Sleep Medicine, 2010
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Sleep Medicine, 2011
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Sleep Medicine, 2014
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Sleep Medicine, 2011
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Journal of Sleep Research, 2009
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Frontiers in Psychology, 2013
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Early Child Development and Care, 2011
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1. A satisfactory explanation of nightmares remains elusive. Theorists since Freud have speculate... more 1. A satisfactory explanation of nightmares remains elusive. Theorists since Freud have speculated on mechanisms that produce nightmares, but no single, widely accepted explanation has emerged (see Nielsen & Levin, 2007b; Levin & Nielsen, 2007). This continuing uncertainty stems, in part, from the fact that nightmares, like dreams more generally, are expressions of human emotional memory--which itself is a complex and intransigent phenomenon. The inner workings of emotional memory have yet to be ...
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Sleep, 2010
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Papers by Jessica Lara-Carrasco