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Neuropsychological investigations of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) have shown impairments in such basic functions as memory, attention and executive control. Since executive functions are known to be dependent on the integrity of the frontal lobe, it was hypothesized that OSAS may be associated with hypoxaemic frontal lobe dysfunction. To test this hypothesis, 21 apnoeic patients and 10 normal controls were studied with quantitative electroencephalographic (EEG) methods during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when most apnoeic events occur and during wakefulness. In apnoeic patients, EEG slowing in REM sleep was observed over frontal, central and parietal regions, while EEG slowing during wakefulness was observed over all cortical regions examined. A positive correlation was found between EEG slowing during wakefulness and oxygen desaturation during the night. Contrary to the hypothesis, these electroencephalographic changes were not localized only to the frontal region. This result may explain the wide range of neuropsychological deficits noted in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, in addition to their poor performance in tasks of executive functioning.

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