# Sleep-dependent negative overgeneralization in peri-pubertal anxiety

> **NIH NIH R01** · FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $83,473

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Sleep is increasingly understood as a critical contributor to brain health and development.
Problems with sleep are present in more than 90% of youth with anxiety, predict worsening
symptoms, and do not resolve following treatment-related remission of anxiety, leaving these
youth at ongoing risk (for review see McMakin et al., 2015). Yet, we have few testable models
for exactly how and why sleep-related problems impact mental health in young people, making it
hard to understand risk pathology and intervene with precision. Both sleep and anxiety are
heterogeneous and vary significantly across development, further complicating the picture.
Models that draw from the known roles of sleep for cognitive and affective functions (e.g.,
memory consolidation, emotion regulation) to explain how disruptions in these processes could
drive specific symptoms during sensitive periods of development are needed to move the field
forward. To this end, our ongoing R01 aims to test our theoretical model whereby disruptions in
key features of sleep neurophysiology (e.g., macro-arousals, spindle activity) impact emotional
reactivity and memory processing to drive negative overgeneralization (Aims 1 and 2). We also
examine whether this sleep-dependent process is modifiable (Aim 3). Despite methodological
complexity and a global pandemic, we are nearing completion of data collection for Aims 1 and
2 (96%; n=192/200) with results supporting key features of our model. The supplement is
requested to support the critical completion of Aim 3 (n=60) in which we turn our attention to
the potential to modify these processes. Specifically, we will use targeted memory reactivation
during sleep to manipulate which memories are selected for consolidation. If we can successfully
modify memory selection and this leads to changes in sleep microstructure coincident with a
reduction in negative overgeneralization, we will not only gain support for causality within our
model but also, we will be well-positioned for intervention work.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10733895
- **Project number:** 3R01MH116005-05S2
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DANA L MCMAKIN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $83,473
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10733895

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10733895, Sleep-dependent negative overgeneralization in peri-pubertal anxiety (3R01MH116005-05S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10733895. Licensed CC0.

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