Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jul;122(7):1382-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2010.12.049. Epub 2011 Feb 9.

Functional imaging of sleep vertex sharp transients

John M Stern  1 , Matteo Caporro, Zulfi Haneef, Hsiang J Yeh, Carla Buttinelli, Agatha Lenartowicz, Jeanette A Mumford, Josef Parvizi, Russell A Poldrack
Affiliations

Functional imaging of sleep vertex sharp transients

John M Stern et al. Clin Neurophysiol. 2011 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: The vertex sharp transient (VST) is an electroencephalographic (EEG) discharge that is an early marker of non-REM sleep. It has been recognized since the beginning of sleep physiology research, but its source and function remain mostly unexplained. We investigated VST generation using functional MRI (fMRI).

Methods: Simultaneous EEG and fMRI were recorded from seven individuals in drowsiness and light sleep. VST occurrences on EEG were modeled with fMRI using an impulse function convolved with a hemodynamic response function to identify cerebral regions correlating to the VSTs. A resulting statistical image was thresholded at Z>2.3.

Results: Two hundred VSTs were identified. Significantly increased signal was present bilaterally in medial central, lateral precentral, posterior superior temporal, and medial occipital cortex. No regions of decreased signal were present.

Conclusion: The regions are consistent with electrophysiologic evidence from animal models and functional imaging of human sleep, but the results are specific to VSTs. The regions principally encompass the primary sensorimotor cortical regions for vision, hearing, and touch.

Significance: The results depict a network comprising the presumed VST generator and its associated regions. The associated regions functional similarity for primary sensation suggests a role for VSTs in sensory experience during sleep.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vertex Sharp Transient recorded during fMRI.
Figure 2
Figure 2
fMRI of 200 vertex sharp transients from 7 individuals. Thresholded to Z>2.3.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bastien CH, Crowley KE, Colrain IM. Evoked potential components unique to non-REM sleep: relationship to evoked K-complexes and vertex sharp waves. Int J Psychophysiol. 2002;46:257–74. - PubMed
    1. Colrain IM. The K-complex: a 7-decade history. Sleep. 2005;28:255–73. - PubMed
    1. Colrain IM, Campbell KB. The use of evoked potentials in sleep research. Sleep Med Rev. 2007;11:277–93. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Forman SD, Cohen JD, Fitzgerald M, Eddy WF, Mintun MA, Noll DC. Improved assessment of significant activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): use of a cluster-size threshold. Magn Reson Med. 1995;33:636–47. - PubMed
    1. Friston KJ, Williams S, Howard R, Frackowiak RS, Turner R. Movement-related effects in fMRI time-series. Magn Reson Med. 1996;35:346–55. - PubMed

Publication types