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Feeling awake while asleep: A neurophenomenological study of sleep state misperception in insomnia and narcolepsy

Project description

Consciousness science and neurophysiology in sleep disorders

Sleep state misperception (SSM) occurs when individuals misjudge their sleep compared to objective measures, commonly seen in conditions such as insomnia and narcolepsy. While the neurophysiology of SSM is being studied, its subjective aspects remain largely unexplored. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PhenoSSM project will combine first-person methods from consciousness science with neurophysiological data to explore sleep onset in insomnia, narcolepsy, and healthy individuals. It will examine the transition from wakefulness to sleep, focusing on what defines the experience of feeling asleep and how patients manage this process. The project aims to uncover insights into sleep experiences, daily cognition, and fatigue, ultimately leading to improved evaluation tools and treatments.

Objective

Sleep is a basic need that represents a critical public health issue when disturbed or insufficient. Sleep state misperception (SSM) – the mismatch between subjective reports (what individuals perceive) and objective measures (what sleep specialists record) – complicates the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. SSM is common in sleep disorders, including insomnia and narcolepsy, both of which struggle with managing the transition from wakefulness to sleep and exhibit severe overestimation of sleep onset latency. Despite recent advances in understanding the neurophysiological aspects of SSM, its subjective dimensions remain largely unexplored. This project aims to address this gap by integrating novel first-person methods from consciousness science, Micro-phenomenology and Temporal Experience Tracing, with objective neurophysiological data to better understand the experiential mechanisms behind SSM in insomnia, narcolepsy, and healthy controls. We will investigate SSM at three critical levels: 1) during the shift from wakefulness to sleep, using polysomnography and micro-phenomenology to identify the minimal requirements for feeling asleep and strategies developed by sleep disorder patients to facilitate/resist this transition; 2) during morning retrospective evaluation of sleep, using Temporal Experience Tracing to capture the dynamics of how sleep experiences are remembered and evaluated across a night of sleep, and its impact on morning fatigue; and 3) across multiple nights, to assess how day-to-day fluctuations in daytime cognition (mind-wandering, tiredness) and nighttime cognition (dreams) relates to SSM and mental health, using a 2-week protocol with actigraphy. This project has the potential to reveal key experiential dimensions related to SSM that have been overlooked, as well as a better knowledge of how SSM fluctuates over many days, which could lead to better evaluation tools or more personalized treatments for patients with sleep disorders.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

INSTITUT DU CERVEAU ET DE LA MOELLE EPINIERE
Net EU contribution
€ 242 260,56
Address
BOULEVARD DE L'HOPITAL 47
75013 Paris
France
Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost
No data

Partners (1)