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Shooting a high-density electroencephalographic picture on sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity

Silvia Miano1, Ninfa Amato1, Corrado Garbazza1

  • 1Sleep Center, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Civic Hospital of Lugano (EOC), Lugano, Switzerland.

Sleep
|July 30, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit altered slow-wave activity (SWA) patterns, suggesting a maturational delay linked to sleep issues. These findings highlight the connection between SWA, ADHD, and sleep disturbances in pediatric populations.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • Sleep-related slow-wave activity (SWA) is a key indicator of synaptic plasticity.
  • Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often display atypical SWA distribution, particularly in central rather than frontal regions, suggesting delayed brain maturation.
  • A significant majority of ADHD patients experience sleep disorders, often with a history of sleep problems and objective findings like increased apnea-hypopnea index and reduced sleep duration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific behavior of slow-wave activity (SWA) in children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  • To compare SWA patterns between children with ADHD and healthy controls.
  • To analyze scalp topography, nocturnal SWA decrease, and EEG sources of SWA in the ADHD cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted a detailed sleep investigation on 30 drug-naive children with ADHD, including full-night video-polysomnography with high-density EEG (PSG-HD-EEG).
  • Compared PSG-HD-EEG data with that of 25 healthy controls.
  • Analyzed SWA scalp topography, the diurnal variation of SWA, and the underlying EEG sources.

Main Results:

  • SWA was predominantly localized in the centro-parietal-occipital regions in children with ADHD, a statistically significant difference compared to controls.
  • The typical physiological decrease in SWA throughout the night was less pronounced in the ADHD group than in controls.
  • Source analysis indicated increased delta power in the posterior cingulate gyrus in children with ADHD.

Conclusions:

  • The study confirms both static and dynamic alterations in SWA behavior in children with ADHD.
  • These SWA changes likely reflect a maturational delay during a critical developmental period.
  • Chronic sleep deprivation may contribute to these observed maturational delays and SWA abnormalities in pediatric ADHD.
Abstract

Keywords:
ADHDEEG spectral analysispediatric psychiatryslow-wave sleep

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