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[Phasic suppression of muscle tonus during sleep in the course of development (author's transl)]
Insights
Phasic suppressions of muscle tonus can appear in infants as early as 3 days old. Their occurrence and frequency increase with age, showing developmental changes in sleep patterns.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Sleep Medicine
Context:
- Investigating the ontogeny of sleep-related physiological phenomena.
- Examining the development of muscle tonus regulation during sleep in humans.
- Analyzing sleep recordings from a broad age range to understand developmental trajectories.
Purpose:
- To determine the earliest age of onset for phasic suppressions of tonus.
- To characterize the developmental changes in the incidence and frequency of these suppressions.
- To explore the relationship between phasic tonus suppressions and other sleep parameters like EEG transients and paradoxical sleep.
Summary:
- Phasic suppressions of muscle tonus are observable from 3 days of age in healthy infants.
- The prevalence of phasic tonus suppressions increases significantly after 6 months of age.
- While stable after 6 years, considerable inter-individual variability exists between 2 and 6 years, suggesting critical developmental periods.
Impact:
- Provides normative data on the emergence and development of phasic tonus suppressions.
- Offers insights into the maturation of motor control and sleep regulation systems.
- Establishes a baseline for future research on sleep disorders and neurological development in children.
Abstract:
A study of phasic suppressions of tonus in 172 sleep recordings of healthy subjects aged from 3 days to 25 years demonstrated that phasic suppressions of tonus may occur from 3 days of age, and that the time when they appear to related neither to the presence of E.E.G. transients nor to the imminence of the onset of paradoxical sleep. the number of sleep recordings showing phasic suppression is very low in youngest infants and increases after the 6th month. The number of phasic suppressions per 100 min. of slow sleep with tonus is fairly stable after 6 years of age, whereas there is an extreme inter-individual variability between 2 and 6 years. These data are interpreted in relation to maturation and development.