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
. 2014 Oct 15;10(10):1075-82.
doi: 10.5664/jcsm.4104.

The Oxford Sleep Resistance test (OSLER) and the Multiple Unprepared Reaction Time Test (MURT) detect vigilance modifications in sleep apnea patients

Anniina Alakuijala  1 , Paula Maasilta  2 , Adel Bachour  2
Affiliations

The Oxford Sleep Resistance test (OSLER) and the Multiple Unprepared Reaction Time Test (MURT) detect vigilance modifications in sleep apnea patients

Anniina Alakuijala et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: The Oxford Sleep Resistance Test (OSLER) is a behavioral test that measures a subject's ability to maintain wakefulness and assesses daytime vigilance. The multiple unprepared reaction time (MURT) test measures a subject's reaction time in response to a series of visual or audible stimuli.

Methods: We recruited 34 healthy controls in order to determine the normative data for MURT. Then we evaluated modifications in OSLER and MURT values in 192 patients who were referred for suspicion of sleep apnea. We performed OSLER (three 40-min sessions) and MURT (two 10-min sessions) tests at baseline. Of 173 treated OSA patients, 29 professional drivers were retested within six months of treatment.

Results: MURT values above 250 ms can be considered abnormal. The OSLER error index (the number of all errors divided by the duration of the session in hours) correlated statistically significantly with sleep latency, MURT time, and ESS. Treatment improved OSLER sleep latency from 33 min 4 s to 36 min 48 s, OSLER error index from 66/h to 26/h, and MURT time from 278 ms to 224 ms; these differences were statistically significant.

Conclusions: OSLER and MURT tests are practical and reliable tools for measuring improvement in vigilance due to sleep apnea therapy in professional drivers.

Keywords: CPAP; alertness; excessive daytime sleepiness; reaction time; vigilance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. A flowchart of the study.
MURT, multiple unprepared reaction time; OSA, obstructive sleep apnea; OSLER, Oxford Sleep Resistance Test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Box-plot showing the OSLER sleep latency at baseline and within six months of OSA treatment. The number of sleep apnea patients at baseline and on treatment is 29. Each box shows the interquartile range, and the horizontal line within the box represents the median. The whiskers extend from the 10th to the 90th centiles. OSLER, Oxford Sleep Resistance Test. (B) Box-plot showing the OSLER error index at baseline and within six months of OSA treatment. OSLER, Oxford Sleep Resistance Test. (C) Box-plot showing the best selected MURT at baseline and within six months of OSA treatment. MURT, multiple unprepared reaction time.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Kaplan-Meier plot showing the percentage of patients staying awake during the 40-min OSLER test (mean of all 3 sessions) at baseline and within six months of OSA treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Décary A, Rouleau I, Montplaisir J. Cognitive deficits associated with sleep apnea syndrome: a proposed neuropsychological test battery. Sleep. 2000;23:369–81. - PubMed
    1. Ayalon L, Ancoli-Israel S, Aka AA, et al. Relationship between obstructive sleep apnea severity and brain activation during a sustained attention task. Sleep. 2009;32:373–81. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lim J, Dinges DF. Sleep deprivation and vigilant attention. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1129:305–22. - PubMed
    1. Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep. 1991;14:450–5. - PubMed
    1. Crawford MR, Bartlett DJ, Coughlin SR, et al. The effect of continuous positive airway pressure usage on sleepiness in obstructive sleep apnoea: real effects or expectation of benefit? Thorax. 2012;67:920–4. - PubMed

MeSH terms