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

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder with known brain abnormalities but no biomarkers to support clinical diagnosis. Recently, EEG analysis methods such as functional connectivity have rekindled interest in using EEG for ADHD diagnosis. Most studies have focused on resting-state EEG, while connectivity during sleep and spindle activity has been underexplored. Here we present the results of a preliminary study exploring spindle-related connectivity as a possible biomarker for ADHD. We compared sensor-space connectivity parameters in eight children with ADHD and nine age/sex-matched healthy controls during sleep, before, during, and after spindle activity in various frequency bands. All connectivity parameters were significantly different between the two groups in the delta and gamma bands, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in the gamma band distinguished ADHD from healthy subjects. Cluster coefficient and path length values in the sigma band were also significantly different between epochs, indicating different spindle-related brain activity in ADHD.

Electroencephalogram-Based ConvMixer Architecture for Recognizing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children

“…However, these methods often face the challenge of effectively capturing the spatial and channel dependence of EEG signals, which is crucial for accurate diagnosis [18]. Some studies have explored the use of EEG analysis in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), utilizing various techniques such as spatial normalization, smoothing, and multivariate empirical decomposition [19][20][21]. These studies highlight the lack of biomarkers for ADHD diagnosis and the complexity and challenges associated with capturing the spatial and channel dependence of EEG signals in this disorder.…”

Characteristics of ADHD Symptoms and EEG Theta/Beta Ratio in Children With Sleep Disordered Breathing

“…21 Accumulating studies have provided evidence for some sleep EEG biomarkers, such as slow-wave activity (SWA) and Spindle; these biomarkers can be used to study the pathophysiological mechanisms of children with ADHD with or without OSA. [22][23][24][25] However, research on sleep TBR among children is limited. As TBR can not only reflect the electrophysiological basis of ADHD symptoms but also reflect sleep pressure, it is a promising new biomarker for revealing the relationship between the daytime ADHD symptoms and the nighttime sleep disorder of children with SDB.…”