title: Presleep attributions about arousal during sleep: nocturnal panic.
abstract: This study examined the role of presleep attributions about physiological events during sleep in nocturnal panic attacks. Patients who regularly experienced nocturnal panic were physiologically monitored as audio signals were presented during sleep. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: expected, in which signals of intense physiological changes were expected; unexpected, in which signals of intense physiological changes were not expected; or control, involving distinctly different signals unrelated to physiological responses. The unexpected condition led to substantially more self-reported distress and panic attacks. The experimental conditions did not elicit different autonomic reactions, but those who panicked showed stronger physiological responses than those who did not panic. The findings are consistent with a cognitive model of nocturnal panic attacks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095-1563, USA. craske@psych.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Michelle G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Craske
authors.forename: Ariel J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: DeCola
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Frisca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yan-Go
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bystritsky
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001290:Attitude; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D011897:Random Allocation; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*