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Microstructure of sleep in depressed patients according to the cyclic alternating pattern
Benedetto Farina1, Giacomo Della Marca, Victoria J Grochocinski
1Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, via Alexander Fleming 110, 00191, Rome, Italy. bennifarina@mclink.it
Background:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the microstructure of the EEG sleep of depressed subjects by cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) analysis.
Methods:
78 patients affected by major depression and 18 control subjects matched for age and sex underwent a full night polysomnographic study.
Results:
A significant increase in CAP rate (60 versus 35%) was found in the patients group compared to controls while no significant difference was found with the traditional analysis.
Conclusion:
In depressed subjects CAP analysis is able to show a microstructural sleep impairment, which is not evident at the macrostructural level, providing an objective measure of sleep disturbance in those patients.