A new method for the quantitative analysis of sleep spindles during continuous overnight EEG recordings

Sleep spindles are one of the most characteristic EEG transients of sleep. Quantitative analysis of sleep spindles may be of value in the study of involuntary movement disorders, depression, and sleep disorders, but this is difficult to perform manually. Phase-locked loop based devices have previously been used to analyse preselected periods of artefact-free non-REM sleep. We have developed a device of this type that provides reliable quantitative analysis of sleep spindles during continuous overnight EEG recordings. The number of sleep spindles detected by the device during overnight recordings correlated well with the mean of two independent human observers and measurements of the amplitude and duration of individual sleep spindles were similar to those obtained by visual analysis. The general applicability of the device was demonstrated by studying 61 patients with a range of neurological disorders.