Sleep Power Topography in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Abstract

Objective: Recent years saw an increasing interest towards sleep microstructure abnormalities in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the existing literature on sleep electroencephalographic (EEG) power in ADHD is still controversial, often based on single electrode recordings, and mainly focused on slow wave activity (SWA) during NREM sleep. This study aimed to systematically investigate sleep power topography in all traditional frequency bands, in all sleep stages and across sleep cycles using high-density EEG (HD-EEG). Method: Thirty drug-naïve children with ADHD (10.5 ± 2.1 years, 21 male) and 23 typically developing (TD) control participants (mean age: 10.2 ± 1.6 years, 13 male) were included in the current analysis. Signal power topography was computed in classical frequency bands during sleep, contrasted between groups and sleep cycles, and correlated with measures of ADHD severity, cognitive functioning and estimated total sleep time. Results: Compared to TD subjects, patients with ADHD consistently displayed a widespread increase in low-frequency activity (between 3 and 10 Hz) during NREM sleep, but not during REM sleep and wake before sleep onset. Such a difference involved a wide centro-posterior cluster of channels in the upper SWA range, in Theta, and low-Alpha. Between-group difference was maximal in sleep stage N3 in the first sleep cycle, and positively correlated with average total sleep time. Conclusions: These results support the concept that children with ADHD, compared to TD peers, have a higher sleep pressure and altered sleep homeostasis, which possibly interfere with (and delay) cortical maturation.

Owner-rated hyperactivity/impulsivity is associated with sleep efficiency in family dogs: a non-invasive EEG study

“…With respect to spectrum power differences, most studies focus on slow wave activity (SWA; EEG power in the 0.75–4.5 Hz band) in NREM sleep, as this parameter has a crucial role in synaptic homeostasis 15 , plasticity 16 and memory consolidation 17 . Previous studies—using high density EEG—observed higher levels of SWA in NREM sleep in ADHD children in the centro-posterial scalp derivation 18 – 20 . Yet, another study reported reduced SWA across the scalp in children and adolescents with ADHD compared to controls 11 .…”

“…For instance, in our previous study, we found that SWA was not only associated with age, but with dogs’ weight as well; larger-sized dogs had more SWA than smaller-sized ones (for more details, see 51 ). In addition, most recent studies mapped different topographical features in ADHD children, using high-resolution EEG method 18 , 20 . In dogs’ sleep EEG studies, four EEG channels are applied (e.g.…”

Sleep Spindle-Related EEG Connectivity in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: An Exploratory Study

“…In ADHD, sleep difficulties have been mostly viewed as an epiphenomenon of an underlying maturational disorder [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ]. The role of sleep in ADHD has been mainly studied in terms of quality and continuity of sleep [ 19 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ].…”

Neurobehavioral Associations with NREM and REM Sleep Architecture in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Thus, an association between externalizing behavior and deep sleep in ASD may be unlikely as well. Plausibly, these relationships may be more apparent with the use of high-density EEG and topographic mapping of SWA as shown in recent ADHD research [ 49 ].…”