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Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
10:02

Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Published on: March 12, 2020

Objective sleep measurement in typically and atypically developing preschool children with ADHD-like profiles

Beth L Goodlin-Jones1, Sara Waters, Thomas F Anders

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA, USA. beth.goodlinjones@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|January 15, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Parent-reported attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in preschoolers were linked to sleep problems. However, objective sleep measurements did not show differences in children with ADHD profiles.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Research
  • Child Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Background:

  • Sleep disturbances are frequently reported in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like symptoms.
  • Understanding the relationship between objective sleep measures and behavioral symptoms in preschoolers is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between actigraphy-measured sleep patterns and parent-reported hyperactivity symptoms in preschool children.
  • To compare objective sleep data with parent perceptions of sleep problems in children with and without clinical ADHD profiles.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study of 186 preschoolers (ages 2-5) across three groups: autism, developmental delay, and typically developing.
  • Collected one week of actigraphic sleep data and parent reports of sleep problems and behavior (Child Behavior Checklist).
  • Compared sleep behavior in children with and without clinical levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms (T scores ≥ 65).

Main Results:

  • 36.1% of the sample reported a parent-defined sleep problem.
  • 34% of the sample had a parent-reported clinical ADHD composite.
  • Children with clinical ADHD profiles were more likely to have parent-reported sleep problems, but no significant differences in actigraphic sleep patterns were found.

Conclusions:

  • Parental reports of clinical ADHD profiles in preschoolers are associated with perceived sleep problems.
  • Objective actigraphy data did not reveal significant differences in sleep patterns for children with clinical ADHD profiles in this sample.
  • The findings highlight a discrepancy between subjective parental reports and objective sleep measures in preschool children with ADHD symptoms.
Abstract

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