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Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice
Published on: January 25, 2016
Paradoxical relationship between subjective and objective cognition: the role of sleep
Amy N Costa1, Christina S McCrae2, Nelson Cowan1
1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri.
Study Objectives:
Subjective memory complaints and objective cognitive dysfunction are common in aging populations; however, research investigating the associations between them is inconclusive. Given the high prevalence of sleep complaints in middle-aged/older adults, this research tested whether objective cognition interacted with sleep parameters in its associations with subjective cognition.
Methods:
Cognitively healthy adults aged 50+ years completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, and cognitive tasks: Stroop, Sternberg, and Posner cueing. Multiple regression and simple slope analyses examined whether objective cognition interacted with sleep parameters in its associations with subjective memory.
Results:
Stroop performance and sleep (efficiency and disturbances) had interactive associations with Cognitive Failures Questionnaire-memory. Specifically, better Stroop performance (faster reaction time-control trials) was associated with more memory complaints at worst and average but not best sleep efficiency. Additionally, faster reaction time was associated with more memory complaints only for worst sleep disturbance. Similarly, Sternberg performance and sleep (efficiency and disturbances) had interactive associations with Cognitive Failures Questionnaire-memory. Specifically, higher proportion correct was associated with more memory complaints only at worst sleep efficiency and sleep disturbance. Finally, Posner performance and sleep disturbance had an interactive association with Cognitive Failures Questionnaire-memory. Faster exogenous orienting was associated with more memory complaints only for worst sleep disturbance.
Conclusions:
Objective cognition interacts with sleep efficiency and sleep disturbances in its associations with subjective memory in mid-to-late life. Findings suggest sleep fragmentation plays a role in the discrepant relationship between objective and subjective cognition. Future studies should investigate this relationship in aging populations with sleep disorders and/or cognitive impairments.
Citation:
Costa AN, McCrae CS, Cowan N, Curtis AF. Paradoxical relationship between subjective and objective cognition: the role of sleep. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(8):2009-2022.
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