Sleep Power Topography in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sleep Medicine
• Pediatric Psychiatry

Background:

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasingly linked to sleep microstructure abnormalities.
• Existing research on sleep electroencephalographic (EEG) power in ADHD is controversial and often limited to single electrode recordings and slow wave activity (SWA).

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically investigate sleep power topography across all frequency bands, sleep stages, and sleep cycles using high-density EEG (HD-EEG) in children with ADHD.
• To compare sleep power patterns between drug-naïve children with ADHD and typically developing (TD) controls.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-density EEG (HD-EEG) in 30 drug-naïve children with ADHD and 23 TD children.
• Computed signal power topography in classical frequency bands during sleep.
• Contrasted power between groups and sleep cycles, correlating with ADHD severity, cognitive function, and total sleep time.

Main Results:

• ADHD patients exhibited a widespread increase in low-frequency activity (3-10 Hz) during NREM sleep compared to TD subjects.
• This difference was observed across NREM sleep stages, particularly N3 in the first sleep cycle, and involved centro-posterior channels in SWA, Theta, and low-Alpha bands.
• No significant differences were found during REM sleep or wake before sleep onset.

Conclusions:

• Children with ADHD demonstrate higher sleep pressure and altered sleep homeostasis compared to TD peers.
• These sleep alterations may interfere with and delay cortical maturation in children with ADHD.