[Event-related potential assessment of cognitive function in children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing]

Objective: To assess cognitive impairment in children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing (OSDB) using event-related potentials (ERPs). Methods: This case-control study analyzed data from 143 OSDB children[94 males, 49 females, aged 9.0(7.0-11.0) years] scheduled for adenotonsillectomy at the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Tsinghua University, between June 2023 and September 2024, along with 17 healthy controls [control group: 10 males, 7 females, aged 10.0 (7.5-12.0) years]. Based on polysomnography results, OSDB children were divided into a mild group [obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI)≤5 events/hour, 49 males, 29 females, aged 9.0 (7.0-10.0) years] and a moderate-to-severe group [OAHI>5 events/hour, 45 males, 20 females, aged 9.0 (8.0-10.0) years]. All children completed a face perception integration task. The occipital P100 and parietal, central and frontal P300 components of incomplete face stimuli (S1) and complete face stimuli (S2) were recorded. Amplitude and latency differences across groups were analyzed. Intergroup comparisons were performed using ANOVA, while independent samples t-tests were used for pairwise comparisons. Non-normally distributed data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: (1) P100: Both the mild group [occipital P100 amplitude: O1-S1(12.44±5.96) μV, O2-S1(14.19±6.39) μV, O2-S2(30.34±11.30) μV] and moderate-to-severe group [O1-S1 (12.12±5.58) μV, O2-S1 (14.08±5.48) μV, O2-S2(29.12±10.89) μV] showed significantly higher amplitudes than the control group [O1-S1(8.46±4.74) μV,O2-S1(9.68±3.70) μV,O2-S2(23.09±9.16) μV] (F=3.501, 4.486, 3.072; all P<0.05). No significant differences were found between the two OSDB subgroups (P>0.05), suggesting compensatory neuronal hyperactivity maintaining normal perceptual function. The moderate-to-severe group exhibited significantly prolonged P100 latency [O2-S1 (134.52±13.42) ms] compared to controls [O2-S1 (125.18±15.31) ms] (F=3.156, P<0.05), while no significant difference was observed between the mild group and either the control or moderate-to-severe groups (P>0.05), indicating delayed visual processing in severely affected children. (2) P300: The mild group exhibited significantly higher P300 amplitudes in parietal regions [P4-S1(8.22±4.32) μV, P4-S2(17.67±9.42) μV] compared to controls [P4-S1 (4.84±2.89) μV, P4-S2 (13.19±7.23) μV] (F=7.19, 4.771; both P<0.05), whereas no significant differences were observed between the moderate-to-severe group and either the control or mild groups (P>0.05), indicating mild group reduced alertness. The latency of P300 in the central region showed an increase in the mild group, although not significantly (P>0.05), indicating a potential decrease in attentional response speed. However, the moderate-to-severe group demonstrated significantly shorter P300 latencies [CZ-S1(394.18±89.12) ms] compared to the mild group [CZ-S1 (433.33±100.33) ms] (F=3.145, P<0.05), possibly reflecting compensatory enhancement of attentional engagement in more severe cases. Conclusion: Children with OSDB exhibit impairments in primary visual processing and attentional regulation, as evidenced by altered ERP components such as P100 and P300. These findings suggest that OSDB may affect neural mechanisms underlying sensory integration and executive functioning.