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Published on: August 5, 2017
Sleep electroencephalogram in children with a parental history of alcohol abuse/dependence
Leila Tarokh1, Mary A Carskadon
1E P Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Laboratory, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, 300 Duncan Drive, Providence, RI 02906, USA. leila_tarokh@brown.edu
Insights
Children with a parental history of alcohol abuse show altered sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns, specifically reduced delta and spindle power during non-REM sleep. These early sleep EEG differences may indicate an increased risk for future sleep disturbances.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Medicine
- Genetics
Background:
- Parental history of alcohol abuse/dependence is a risk factor for alcohol use disorders.
- Early identification of risk factors for alcohol use is crucial.
- Sleep disturbances may precede the onset of alcohol use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) disturbances associated with alcohol abuse precede alcohol use in children.
- To examine sleep EEG spectral characteristics in children with and without a parental history of alcohol abuse/dependence (PH+ and PH-).
Main Methods:
- Polysomnography was used to record all-night sleep EEG in 30 healthy 9- and 10-year-old children.
- Children were classified as PH+ or PH- based on DSM-IV criteria from parental interviews.
- EEG power spectra were analyzed for rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep, including cycle-by-cycle analyses.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found in sleep stage variables between PH+ and PH- children.
- PH+ children exhibited lower normalized power in the delta band and spindle range during NREM sleep compared to PH- children.
- These spectral differences were most pronounced in the first sleep cycle and occurred within the first four NREM cycles.
Conclusions:
- Sleep EEG spectral differences, not sleep stage alterations, suggest potential impairments in sleep-protective circuits in PH+ children.
- These findings indicate that subtle sleep EEG alterations may precede the onset of alcohol use and predict future sleep disturbances.
- Early sleep EEG analysis could serve as a potential biomarker for identifying children at risk for alcohol-related issues.
Abstract:
We examined the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) in 9- and 10-year-old children with (PH+) and without (PH-) a parental history of alcohol abuse/dependence to determine whether sleep disturbances associated with alcohol precede the onset of alcohol use. Participants slept on a fixed sleep schedule that ensured at least a 10-h time in bed for 1 week before an adaptation and baseline night. Data were collected in a four-bed sleep research laboratory. Thirty healthy boys and girls aged 9 or 10 years were classified as either PH+ or PH- based on DSM-IV criteria applied to structured parental interviews. All-night polysomnography was performed, sleep data were scored visually in 30-s epochs, and EEG power spectra were calculated for each epoch. All-night EEG spectra were calculated for rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep, and cycle-by-cycle spectra were calculated for NREM sleep. The two groups did not differ on any sleep stage variable. All-night analyses revealed normalized power in the delta band and spindle range were lower in PH+ children. Within NREM sleep cycles PH+ children exhibited less normalized power in the delta band and spindle range compared with PH- children. This effect occurred in the first four cycles and was most pronounced in the first sleep cycle of the night. We found no signs of sleep disruption in sleep stages for PH+ children. Sleep EEG spectral differences, however, suggest that certain circuits responsible for 'protecting' sleep may be impaired in PH+ children, which may lead to disrupted sleep later in life.
