Inter- and intrahemispheric EEG correlation during sleep and wakefulness

Inter- (INTERr) and intrahemispheric (INTRAr) electroencephalographic (EEG) correlations were assessed in eight young male adults during wakefulness with eyes closed before going to sleep, and during stage 2, stage 4 and paradoxical sleep (PS) on the second night spent at the laboratory. Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated between EEG signals of every pair of electrodes (C3, C4, F3, F4, T3, T4) for six bands and for every 0.5 Hz from 1.5 to 15 Hz. Previous results of higher INTERr during sleep compared to during wakefulness were confirmed for the delta and theta bands during stage 2 sleep and PS and for sleep spindles during stage 2 sleep. The present results extend these findings to INTERr between F3 and F4 and during stage 4 sleep. INTRAr of 1.5-6.5 and 11-15 Hz was significantly higher during stages 2 and 4, whereas during PS INTRAr did not change. These data show that cortical changes during sleep are also observed in functional differentiation between cortical sites. Inter- and intrahemispheric differentiation is attenuated during stage 2 and 4 sleep, whereas during PS only inter-hemispheric differentiation is attenuated but intrahemispheric differentiation maintains similar levels of wakefulness. The attenuation of cortical differentiation may be of relevance for the understanding of mental activity changes during sleep.