Removal of ocular artifacts from the REM sleep EEG

The present report concerns the first study in which electrooculographic (EOG) contamination of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is systematically investigated. Contamination of REM sleep EEG recordings in six subjects was evaluated in the frequency domain. REM-active and REM-quiet series were obtained for each subject. Transfer coefficients and power spectra of EOG and EEG indicated that (a) increases in transfer coefficients beyond 4.5 Hz are brought about by residual EEG in the EOG, and (b) EOG-EEG contamination in the delta band is most pronounced in frontal, intermediate in central and negligible in occipital leads. It was found that correction of the REM-active series resulted in significant (c) reductions in power, (d) increases in interhemispheric coherences and (e) reductions in degree of lateral asymmetry. These effects were largest for frontal leads, but still marked for central ones. The results are discussed in the light of previous findings concerning models of hemispheric functioning during REM sleep.