Reduced sleep pressure in young children with autism

AbstractStudy ObjectivesSleep disturbances and insomnia are highly prevalent in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sleep homeostasis, a fundamental mechanism of sleep regulation that generates pressure to sleep as a function of wakefulness, has not been studied in children with ASD so far, and its potential contribution to their sleep disturbances remains unknown. Here, we examined whether slow wave activity (SWA), a measure that is indicative of sleep pressure, differs in children with ASD.MethodsIn this case-control study, we compared overnight electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings that were performed during Polysomnography (PSG) evaluations of 29 children with ASD and 23 typically developing children.ResultsChildren with ASD exhibited significantly weaker SWA power, shallower SWA slopes, and a decreased proportion of slow wave sleep in comparison to controls. This difference was largest during the first two hours following sleep onset and decreased gradually thereafter. Furthermore, SWA power of children with ASD was significantly, negatively correlated with the time of their sleep onset in the lab and at home, as reported by parents.ConclusionsThese results suggest that children with ASD may have a dysregulation of sleep homeostasis that is manifested in reduced sleep pressure. The extent of this dysregulation in individual children was apparent in the amplitude of their SWA power, which was indicative of the severity of their individual sleep disturbances. We, therefore, suggest that disrupted homeostatic sleep regulation may contribute to sleep disturbances in children with ASD.Statement of significanceSleep disturbances are apparent in 40-80% of children with autism. Homeostatic sleep regulation, a mechanism that increases the pressure to sleep as a function of prior wakefulness, has not been studied in children with autism. Here, we compared Polysomnography exams of 29 children with autism and 23 matched controls. We found that children with autism exhibited reduced slow-wave-activity power and shallower slopes, particularly during the first two hours of sleep. This suggests that they develop less pressure to sleep. Furthermore, the reduction in slow-wave-activity was associated with the severity of sleep disturbances as observed in the laboratory and as reported by parents. We, therefore, suggest that disrupted homeostatic sleep regulation may contribute to sleep disturbances of children with autism.

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Reduced sleep pressure in young children with autism

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsz309 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ayelet Arazi ◽

Gal Meiri ◽

Dor Danan ◽

Analya Michaelovski ◽

Hagit Flusser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Slow Wave ◽

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Slow Wave Sleep ◽

Sleep Onset ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Sleep Regulation ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Sleep Homeostasis

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Psilocin acutely disrupts sleep and affects local but not global sleep homeostasis in laboratory mice

10.1101/2021.02.16.431276 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher W. Thomas ◽

Cristina Blanco-Duque ◽

Benjamin Bréant ◽

Guy M. Goodwin ◽

Trevor Sharp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sleep Deprivation ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Slow Wave ◽

Recovery Period ◽

Sleep Onset ◽

Well Being ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Slow Wave Activity ◽

Sleep Homeostasis

AbstractSerotonergic psychedelic drugs, such as psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine), profoundly alter the quality of consciousness through mechanisms which are incompletely understood. Growing evidence suggests that a single psychedelic experience can positively impact long-term psychological well-being, with relevance for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including depression. A prominent factor associated with psychiatric disorders is disturbed sleep, and the sleep-wake cycle is implicated in the regulation of neuronal firing and activity homeostasis. It remains unknown to what extent psychedelic agents directly affect sleep, in terms of both acute arousal and homeostatic sleep regulation. Here, chronic in vivo electrophysiological recordings were obtained in mice to track sleep-wake architecture and cortical activity after psilocin injection. Administration of psilocin led to delayed REM sleep onset and reduced NREM sleep maintenance for up to approximately 3 hours after dosing, and the acute EEG response was associated primarily with an enhanced oscillation around 4 Hz. No long-term changes in sleep-wake quantity were found. When combined with sleep deprivation, psilocin did not alter the dynamics of homeostatic sleep rebound during the subsequent recovery period, as reflected in both sleep amount and EEG slow wave activity. However, psilocin decreased the recovery rate of sleep slow wave activity following sleep deprivation in the local field potentials of electrodes targeting medial prefrontal and surrounding cortex. It is concluded that psilocin affects both global vigilance state control and local sleep homeostasis, an effect which may be relevant for its antidepressant efficacy.

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Complexity of Wake Electroencephalography Correlates With Slow Wave Activity After Sleep Onset

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2018.00809 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Fengzhen Hou ◽

Zhinan Yu ◽

Chung-Kang Peng ◽

Albert Yang ◽

Chunyong Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Slow Wave ◽

Sleep Onset ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Slow Wave Activity

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Relationship of sleep homeostasis to seizures and cognition in children with focal epilepsy

10.1101/2020.11.05.20226514 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Maria H Eriksson ◽

Torsten Baldeweg ◽

Ronit Pressler ◽

Stewart G Boyd ◽

Reto Huber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Slow Wave ◽

Focal Epilepsy ◽

Nrem Sleep ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Slow Wave Activity ◽

Iq Testing ◽

Sleep Homeostasis ◽

Interictal Discharges ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

AbstractObjectiveSleep disruption and cognitive impairment are important co-morbidities in childhood epilepsy, yet a mechanistic link has not been substantiated. Slow wave activity during sleep and its homeostatic decrease across the night is associated with synaptic renormalisation, and shows maturational changes over the course of childhood. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of epilepsy on sleep homeostasis in the developing brain.MethodsWe examined the relationship of sleep homeostasis as reflected in slow wave activity to seizures, cognition and behaviour, comparing 22 children (aged 6 to 16 years) with focal epilepsy to 21 age-matched healthy controls. Participants underwent overnight sleep EEG and IQ testing and performed memory consolidation tasks. Their parents completed standard behavioural questionnaires.ResultsChildren with epilepsy had lower slow wave activity at the start of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, though similar overnight decline and slow wave activity in the final hour of NREM sleep. Both groups displayed an antero-posterior shift in peak slow wave activity overnight, though individual patients showed persistent local increases at scalp locations matching those of focal interictal discharges. Patients who had seizures during their admission had lower early-night slow wave activity, the group without seizures showing similar activity to controls. We found a positive correlation between full scale IQ and early-night slow wave activity in patients but not controls.InterpretationReduced early night slow wave activity in children with focal epilepsies is correlated with lower cognitive ability and more seizures and may reflect a reduction in learning-related synaptic potentiation.

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Effects of Sleep Disturbances on Behavioral Problems in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.559694 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Ying Wang ◽

Jingjing Lin ◽

Ying Zeng ◽

Yanan Liu ◽

Yamin Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Preschool Children ◽

Behavioral Problems ◽

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Child Behavior Checklist ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sleep Habits ◽

Children With Asd

Study Objectives: This study aims to identify the characteristic sleep disturbances that affect behavioral problems in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), providing a potential direction for sleep and behavioral intervention in ASD.Methods: The data of 513 children with ASD and 246 typically developing (TD) children aged between 2 and 5 years old were collected. The behavior performance of preschool children was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist for 1.5–5.0 years old. The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) was used to measure the sleep status of the children, and the Social Responsiveness Scale was used to measure the severity of disorder. Linear regression analysis was performed to examine the effects of sleep disturbances on behavioral problems, and independent-sample t-test was performed to compare the mean of the samples.Results: Compared to TD children, children with ASD had longer sleep onset delay and more night awakenings. The parasomnias score (a subscale of the CSHQ) was significantly associated with the internalizing (β = 0.113, P = 0.010), externalizing (β = 0.128, P = 0.006), and total problems (β = 0.143, P = 0.001) of children with ASD, while this association was not significant in TD children. “Bed wetting” and “restless and moves a lot” (two items in the CSHQ under parasomnia) significantly only affected the overall behavioral score in children with ASD (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Parasomnias, especially bed wetting and restlessness, are specifically associated with the behavioral problems of children with ASD rather than TD children.

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Sleep Disturbances in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder at a Malaysian Tertiary Hospital

Frontiers in Pediatrics ◽

10.3389/fped.2020.608242 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Ho Wai Koo ◽

Juriza Ismail ◽

Wai Wai Yang ◽

Syed Zulkifli Syed Zakaria

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Sleep Problems ◽

Sleep Latency ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Female Gender ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Age Group ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Sleep Length

Introduction: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a variety of co-morbid medical problems, including sleep disturbances. Prevalence of sleep disorders has been reported to be higher in this group as compared to the general population. Identifying sleep problems in children with ASD may help increase awareness and improve the overall quality of care for them. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sleep problems and associated factors in a group of Malaysian children aged 6–16 years, with ASD.Method: This is a cross-sectional study at the Child Development Centre of UKM Medical Centre (UKM MC) on ASD children aged 6–16 years. Demographic data was obtained and the Sleep Disturbances Scale for Children (SDSC) questionnaire was completed by the main caregiver. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors related to higher total SDSC scores.Results: A total of 128 patients were recruited (111 boys) with a median age of 8 years 3 months (IQR: 2 years 10 months). Forty-seven (36.7%) of them obtained total SDSC scores in the pathological range with 19 (14.8%) scoring high for overall disturbances and 28 (21.9%) for at least one subtype of sleep disorders: 25 (19.5%) DIMS, 18 (14.1%) SBD, 10 (7.8%) DOES, 5 (3.9%) DOA, 6 (4.7%) SWTD, and 3 (2.3%) SHY. More than half of the children (57.8%) were reported to have sufficient sleep duration of 8–11 h, but longer sleep latency of at least 15 min (82.8%). Half of the ASD children also had co-morbidities in which one-third (34.4%) had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using logistic regression analysis, four factors were significantly associated with higher total SDSC scores; female gender (p = 0.016), older age group (11–16 years old) (p = 0.039), shorter sleep length (p = 0.043), and longer sleep latency (p < 0.001).Conclusion: The prevalence of sleep disturbances is high among Malaysian children with ASD, especially DIMS. Female gender, older age group, shorter sleep length, and longer sleep latency were found to be associated with the sleep disturbances. Evaluation of sleep problems should form part of the comprehensive care of children with ASD.

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NONLINEAR ANALYSIS OF EEG SLOW-WAVE ACTIVITY DURING SLEEP AND SLEEP REGULATION MODELING: A STUDY IN NARCOLEPTIC PATIENTS UNDER BED REST CONDITIONS

Chaos in Brain? ◽

10.1142/9789812793782_0050 ◽

2000 ◽

Author(s):

R. FERRI ◽

S. PETTINATO ◽

F. FERRILLO ◽

L. NOBILI ◽

M. BILLIARD

Keyword(s):

Nonlinear Analysis ◽

Slow Wave ◽

Bed Rest ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Slow Wave Activity ◽

Sleep Regulation

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Varying photoperiod in the laboratory rat: profound effect on 24-h sleep pattern but no effect on sleep homeostasis

AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpregu.1995.269.3.r691 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 269 (3) ◽

pp. R691-R701 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

P. Franken ◽

I. Tobler ◽

A. A. Borbely

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Slow Wave ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Slow Wave Activity ◽

Sleep Pattern ◽

Rapid Eye Movement ◽

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep ◽

Sleep Regulation ◽

Marked Rise ◽

Laboratory Rats

To assess the influence of the photoperiod on sleep regulation, laboratory rats were adapted to a long photoperiod (LPP; 16:8-h light-dark cycle, LD 16:8) or a short photoperiod (SPP; LD 8:16). The electroencephalogram (EEG) and cortical temperature (TCRT) were continuously recorded for a baseline day, a 24-h sleep deprivation (SD) period, and a recovery day. Data obtained previously for LD 12:12 served for comparison. Whereas the photoperiod exerted a prominent effect on the 24-h sleep pattern, the 24-h baseline level of sleep and the response to SD were little affected. Recovery from SD was characterized by a marked rise in rapid eye movement sleep, a moderate rise in non-rapid eye movement sleep, and an initial enhancement of EEG slow-wave activity followed by a decrease below baseline. The amplitude and phase of the "unmasked" 24-h component of TCRT did not differ between LPP and SPP. Computer simulations demonstrated that the changes of TCRT and EEG slow-wave activity can be largely accounted for by the sequence of the vigilance states. We conclude that the photoperiod does not affect the basic processes underlying sleep regulation.

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The neural architecture of sleep regulation – insights from Drosophila

Neuroforum ◽

10.1515/nf-2021-0018 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Raquel Suárez-Grimalt ◽

Davide Raccuglia

Keyword(s):

Neural Networks ◽

Slow Wave ◽

Sensory Processing ◽

Model Organism ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Slow Wave Activity ◽

Sleep Regulation ◽

Neural Architecture ◽

Waking And Sleep ◽

Functional Components

Abstract The neural mechanisms that balance waking and sleep to ensure adequate sleep quality in mammals are highly complex, often eluding functional insight. In the last two decades, researchers made impressive progress in studying the less complex brain of the invertebrate model organism Drosophila melanogaster, which has led to a deeper understanding of the neural principles of sleep regulation. Here, we will review these findings to illustrate that neural networks require sleep to undergo synaptic reorganization that allows for the incorporation of experiences made during the waking hours. Sleep need, therefore, can arise as a consequence of sensory processing, often signalized by neural networks as they synchronize their electrical patterns to generate slow-wave activity. The slow-wave activity provides the neurophysiological basis to establish a sensory gate that suppresses sensory processing to provide a resting phase which promotes synaptic rescaling and clearance of metabolites from the brain. Moreover, we demonstrate how neural networks for homeostatic and circadian sleep regulation interact to consolidate sleep into a specific daily period. We particularly highlight that the basic functions and physiological principles of sleep are highly conserved throughout the phylogenetic spectrum, allowing us to identify the functional components and neural interactions that construct the neural architecture of sleep regulation.

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