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. 2010 Nov;33(11):1511-6.
doi: 10.1093/sleep/33.11.1511.

Analysis of slow-wave activity and slow-wave oscillations prior to somnambulism

Olivier Jaar  1 , Mathieu Pilon, Julie Carrier, Jacques Montplaisir, Antonio Zadra
Affiliations

Analysis of slow-wave activity and slow-wave oscillations prior to somnambulism

Olivier Jaar et al. Sleep. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVIES: several studies have investigated slow wave sleep EEG parameters, including slow-wave activity (SWA) in relation to somnambulism, but results have been both inconsistent and contradictory. The first goal of the present study was to conduct a quantitative analysis of sleepwalkers' sleep EEG by studying fluctuations in spectral power for delta (1-4 Hz) and slow delta (0.5-1 Hz) before the onset of somnambulistic episodes. A secondary aim was to detect slow-wave oscillations to examine changes in their amplitude and density prior to behavioral episodes.

Participants: twenty-two adult sleepwalkers were investigated polysomnographically following 25 h of sleep deprivation.

Results: analysis of patients' sleep EEG over the 200 sec prior to the episodes' onset revealed that the episodes were not preceded by a gradual increase in spectral power for either delta or slow delta over frontal, central, or parietal leads. However, time course comparisons revealed significant changes in the density of slow-wave oscillations as well as in very slow oscillations with significant increases occurring during the final 20 sec immediately preceding episode onset.

Conclusions: the specificity of these sleep EEG parameters for the occurrence and diagnosis of NREM parasomnias remains to be determined.

Keywords: Sleepwalking; parasomnias; sleep EEG; sleep deprivation; slow-wave activity; slow-wave oscillations; somnambulism.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Criteria used for the automated detection of SWO. Negative is downward.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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