[Cortical arousal, autonomic arousal. Evaluation techniques and clinical importance]

Abstract

The respiratory disorders expressed by obstructive hypopneas and apneas during sleep, as well as the sequences of crescendo in respiratory effort without hypopneas or apneas which define the upper airway resistance syndrome, terminate with (thanks to) an arousal, defined by EEG changes. In some cases, the activation of the central nervous system is restricted to a sympathetic activation, which has been mainly studied in the cardiovascular area, and is not always accompanied by a cortical arousal. Various approaches (heart rate, blood pressure, pulse transit time, peripheral arterial tonometry) make the identification of sympathetic activation possible. Sympathetic activation seems to be more sensitive than cortical arousal to the stimulations generated by the respiratory system via an activation of mechanoreceptors stimulated by the increased respiratory effort in response to total or partial occlusion of the upper airway. The mechanisms of the cortical or autonomic arousal are not fully understood, but their detection could be a diagnostic tool for the identification of such disorders. Such tools are currently under validation.