Progressions of Sleep, Memory and Depression Applicable to Psychoanalysis: A Review

Previously, it has been demonstrated that the slow wave sleep(SWS) functioned to adjust the emotional balance disrupted by accumulated emotional memories, while the rapid eye movement(REM) sleep played the opposite role. Many observations have demonstrated that the REM sleep processes emotional memories, while often disrupts the emotional balance toward depression, consistent with the conflict of learned memories against disinhibited drives in dreams in Freudian psychoanalysis. In contrast, extensive evidences have demonstrated the role of SWS against depression, while it was recently reported SWS in favor of long-term depression(LTD) rather than long-term potentiation(LTP), which are both contrary to that of REM sleep and supplement a new half story on emotion and memory from SWS neglected by Freudian psychoanalysis. Besides, differentiation of the noradrenergic and serotonergic activities in waking and sleep would result in the respective differentiated conscious and subconscious conflict of memory and emotion in psychoanalysis. As aversive learning occurs more frequently for most individuals in environments, when extending such results from depression to mania, it is necessary to be cautious and to wait for more investigations. Review of progressions in sleep, memory and depression would help support, revise and extend both theory and therapy of Freudian psychoanalysis.