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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
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Sleep Structure in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Gulcin Akinci1, Ibrahim Oztura2, Semra Hiz3

  • 1Department of Pediatric Neurology, Dr Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey akinci.gulcin@gmail.com.

Journal of Child Neurology
|February 26, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience poorer sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. Their sleep microstructure shows alterations, specifically reduced cyclic alternating pattern rate, impacting sleep architecture.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatrics
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder.
  • Sleep disturbances are frequently reported in children with ADHD, but objective data on sleep architecture are limited.
  • Previous studies often included children with comorbidities or on medication, confounding results.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate basic sleep architecture and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep alterations in drug-naïve children with ADHD without comorbidities.
  • To compare sleep microstructure between children with ADHD and healthy controls using polysomnography.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional case-control study involving 28 drug-naïve children with ADHD and 15 healthy controls.
  • Subjective sleep quality and daytime sleepiness assessed.
  • Objective sleep analysis using polysomnography, focusing on sleep macrostructure and microstructure (Cyclic Alternating Pattern - CAP).

Main Results:

  • Children with ADHD reported worse subjective sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness.
  • No significant differences in sleep macrostructure were observed between groups.
  • Significant alterations in sleep microstructure were found in ADHD children, including reduced total CAP rate and duration, and a decreased A1 index during NREM stage 2.
  • Slightly decreased SpO2 and no significant difference in sleep-disordered breathing incidence.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep microstructure, particularly CAP, is altered in drug-naïve children with ADHD, suggesting a potential objective marker for sleep disturbances.
  • Cyclic Alternating Pattern scoring offers valuable insights into the complex sleep structure of children with ADHD.
  • These findings highlight the importance of evaluating sleep microstructure in ADHD management.

Keywords:
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderchildrencyclic alternating pattern scoringnocturnal polysomnographysleep

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