Origin, synchronization, and propagation of sleep slow waves in children.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep slow wave activity, as measured using EEG delta power (<4 Hz), undergoes significant changes throughout development, mirroring changes in brain function and anatomy. Yet, age-dependent variations in the characteristics of individual slow waves have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we aimed at characterizing individual slow wave properties such as origin, synchronization, and cortical propagation at the transition between childhood and adulthood. METHODS: We analyzed overnight high-density (256 electrodes) EEG recordings of healthy typically developing children (N = 21, 10.3 ± 1.5 years old) and young healthy adults (N = 18, 31.1 ± 4.4 years old). All recordings were preprocessed to reduce artifacts, and NREM slow waves were detected and characterized using validated algorithms. The threshold for statistical significance was set at p = 0.05. RESULTS: The slow waves of children were larger and steeper, but less widespread than those of adults. Moreover, they tended to mainly originate from and spread over more posterior brain areas. Relative to those of adults, the slow waves of children also displayed a tendency to more strongly involve and originate from the right than the left hemisphere. The separate analysis of slow waves characterized by high and low synchronization efficiency showed that these waves undergo partially distinct maturation patterns, consistent with their possible dependence on different generation and synchronization mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in slow wave origin, synchronization, and propagation at the transition between childhood and adulthood are consistent with known modifications in cortico-cortical and subcortico-cortical brain connectivity. In this light, changes in slow-wave properties may provide a valuable yardstick to assess, track, and interpret physiological and pathological development.

Automatic video analysis and classification of sleep-related hypermotor seizures and disorders of arousal.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep-related hypermotor epilepsy (SHE) is a focal epilepsy with seizures occurring mostly during sleep. SHE seizures present different motor characteristics ranging from dystonic posturing to hyperkinetic motor patterns, sometimes associated with affective symptoms and complex behaviors. Disorders of arousal (DOA) are sleep disorders with paroxysmal episodes that may present analogies with SHE seizures. Accurate interpretation of the different SHE patterns and their differentiation from DOA manifestations can be difficult and expensive, and can require highly skilled personnel not always available. Furthermore, it is operator dependent. METHODS: Common techniques for human motion analysis, such as wearable sensors (e.g., accelerometers) and motion capture systems, have been considered to overcome these problems. Unfortunately, these systems are cumbersome and they require trained personnel for marker and sensor positioning, limiting their use in the epilepsy domain. To overcome these problems, recently significant effort has been spent in studying automatic methods based on video analysis for the characterization of human motion. Systems based on computer vision and deep learning have been exploited in many fields, but epilepsy has received limited attention. RESULTS: In this paper, we present a pipeline composed of a set of three-dimensional convolutional neural networks that, starting from video recordings, reached an overall accuracy of 80% in the classification of different SHE semiology patterns and DOA. SIGNIFICANCE: The preliminary results obtained in this study highlight that our deep learning pipeline could be used by physicians as a tool to support them in the differential diagnosis of the different patterns of SHE and DOA, and encourage further investigation.

Clinical and instrumental features in 82 patients with insufficient sleep syndrome.

Insufficient sleep syndrome possibly represents the worldwide leading cause of daytime sleepiness, but remains poorly recognised and studied. The aim of this case series is to comprehensively describe a cohort of patients with insufficient sleep syndrome. Eighty-two patients were studied concerning demographic and socio-economic features, medical, psychiatric and sleep comorbidities, substance use, sleep symptoms, actigraphy, video-polysomnography, multiple sleep latency tests and treatment. The typical patient with insufficient sleep syndrome is a middle-aged adult (with no difference of gender), employed, who has a family, often carrying psychiatric and neurological comorbidities, in particular headache, anxiety and depression. Other sleep disorders, especially mild sleep apnea and bruxism, were common as well. Actigraphy was a valuable tool in the characterisation of insufficient sleep syndrome, showing a sleep restriction during weekdays, associated with a recovery rebound of night sleep during weekends and a high amount of daytime sleep. An over- or underestimation of sleeping was common, concerning both the duration of night sleep and daytime napping. The average daily sleep considering both daytime and night-time, weekdays and weekends corresponds to the recommended minimal normal duration, meaning that the burden of insufficient sleep syndrome could mainly depend on sleep fragmentation and low quality. Sleep efficiency was elevated both in actigraphy and video-polysomnography. Multiple sleep latency tests evidenced a tendency toward sleep-onset rapid eye movement periods. Our study offers a comprehensive characterisation of patients with insufficient sleep syndrome, and clarifies their sleeping pattern, opening avenues for management and treatment of the disorder. Current options seem not adapted, and in our opinion a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy protocol should be developed.

Sleep microstructure in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder according to the underlying sleep phenotypes.

The analysis of sleep microstructure in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) revealed an under-representation of the EEG slow component during NREM sleep. Previous studies either excluded or did not characterize objectively sleep disorders, which notoriously affect sleep architecture. The present study aimed to investigate the cyclic alternating pattern in a real clinical sample of children with ADHD, in whom sleep disorders could be considered. Twenty-seven consecutively enrolled drug-naïve children (mean age, 10.53 years; nine females) and 23 controls (mean age, 10.22 years; 11 females) underwent a full sleep investigation, including attended video-polysomnography. Visual cyclic alternating pattern analysis was performed in a blinded way. Children with ADHD had one or more sleep disorders (a narcolepsy-like phenotype was found in two cases, sleep onset insomnia in three cases, arousal disorder in one case, movement disorder phenotype in six cases and obstructive sleep apnea in 11 cases, and six children had sleep-related epileptiform discharges). Children with ADHD and normal controls showed a similar microstructure with a cyclic alternating pattern rate of about 50%. Children with obstructive sleep apnea had a significantly higher cyclic alternating pattern rate during stage N3. Despite not reaching statistical differences, a lower cyclic alternating pattern rate and A1 index were found in children without epileptic abnormalities/obstructive sleep apnea. Our analysis might allow differentiation of the "primary form" of ADHD associated with a decrease of NREM instability from those forms associated with sleep apnea and epileptic activity.

Sleep and emotion processing in paediatric posttraumatic stress disorder: A pilot investigation.

Emotion processing abnormalities and sleep pathology are central to the phenomenology of paediatric posttraumatic stress disorder, and sleep disturbance has been linked to the development, maintenance and severity of the disorder. Given emerging evidence indicating a role for sleep in emotional brain function, it has been proposed that dysfunctional processing of emotional experiences during sleep may play a significant role in affective disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder. Here we sought to examine the relationship between sleep and emotion processing in typically developing youth, and youth with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder . We use high-density electroencephalogram to compare baseline sleep with sleep following performance on a task designed to assess both memory for and reactivity to negative and neutral imagery in 10 youths with posttraumatic stress disorder, and 10 age- and sex-matched non-traumatized typically developing youths. Subjective ratings of arousal to negative imagery (ΔArousal = post-sleep minus pre-sleep arousal ratings) remain unchanged in youth with posttraumatic stress disorder following sleep (mean increase 0.15, CI -0.28 to +0.58), but decreased in TD youth (mean decrease -1.0, 95% CI -1.44 to -0.58). ΔArousal, or affective habituation, was negatively correlated with global change in slow-wave activity power (ρ = -0.58, p = .008). When considered topographically, the correlation between Δslow-wave activity power and affective habituation was most significant in a frontal cluster of 27 electrodes (Spearman, ρ = -0.51, p = .021). Our results highlight the importance of slow-wave sleep for adaptive emotional processing in youth, and have implications for symptom persistence in paediatric posttraumatic stress disorder. Impairments in slow-wave activity may represent a modifiable risk factor in paediatric posttraumatic stress disorder.

Behavioural and emotional profiles of children and adolescents with disorders of arousal.

Disorders of arousals are common sleep disorders characterized by complex motor behaviours that arise episodically out of slow-wave sleep. Psychological distress has long been associated with disorders of arousal, but this link remains controversial, especially in children and adolescents. The aim of this multi-centre study was to characterize behavioural and emotional problems in a sample of children/adolescents with disorders of arousal, and to explore their relationship with the severity of nocturnal episodes. The parents of 41 children/adolescents with a diagnosis of disorders of arousal (11.5 ± 3.3 years old, 61% males) and of a group of 41 age- and gender-matched control participants filled in the Child Behavior Checklist, along with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children and the Paris Arousal Disorders Severity Scale. Multilevel t-tests revealed significantly higher total scores and sub-scores of the Child Behavior Checklist for the patient group compared with the control group. Thirty-four percent of the patients obtained pathological total scores, and 12% of them borderline scores. The severity of emotional/behavioural problems in the patient group was positively correlated with the severity of the nocturnal episodes. Interestingly, children/adolescents with disorders of arousal also obtained higher excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia symptoms sub-scores at the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. These results confirmed the hypothesis that behavioural/emotional problems are surprisingly common in children/adolescents with disorders of arousal. Further studies are warranted to investigate the causal relationship between pathological manifestations, subtler sleep abnormalities, and diurnal emotional/behavioural problems in children/adolescents with disorders of arousal.

Contribution of sleep disturbances to fatigue in multiple sclerosis: a prospective study using clinical and polysomnographic parameters.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Fatigue is amongst the most frequent and disabling symptoms of multiple sclerosis and a close relation between fatigue and sleep quality has been hypothesized. In this study the contribution of sleep disturbances measured by clinical and polysomnographic parameters to fatigue in multiple sclerosis was investigated. METHODS: This was a prospective instrumental study performed at the Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland. Demographic data and clinical characteristics including fatigue (as measured by the modified fatigue impact scale [MFIS]), neurological disability, psychiatric symptoms, medications and sleep-related variables were collected at baseline visit and by a home full-night polysomnography. The associations between sleep-related variables and the MFIS were tested using partial correlations adjusted by demographic and sleep-unrelated clinical factors. RESULTS: Seventy-six patients were included in the study, of whom 53 (69.7%) had an MFIS ≥38 points (median 49.5, interquartile range 31.0-62.0). MFIS scores were positively associated with age, neurological disability, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and use of benzodiazepines and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. When adjusting for these variables, the presence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) (r = 0.37, p = 0.005) and periodic leg movements index (r = -0.33, p = 0.014) were associated with MFIS. Excessive daytime sleepiness, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, respiratory disturbances, and percentage of time spent in the different sleep stages (N1, N2, N3 and rapid eye movement) were not associated with fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple sclerosis patients with a diagnosis of RLS had significantly higher global fatigue scores compared to those without RLS. Future studies should investigate whether medical treatment of RLS can ameliorate fatigue.

Sleep spindles and slow waves in schizophrenia and related disorders: main findings, challenges and future perspectives.

Sleep abnormalities have recently gained renewed attention in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Disrupted thalamocortical brain oscillations hold promise as putative biomarkers or endophenotypes of the disorder. Despite an increase in studies related to sleep spindle and slow-wave activity, findings remain in part contradictory. Although sleep spindle deficits have been confirmed in several groups of patients with chronic, medicated schizophrenia, data on the early stages of the disorder and in unmedicated subjects are still insufficient. Findings on slow-wave abnormalities are largely inconclusive, possibly due to the different criteria employed to define the phenomenon and to the influence of atypical antipsychotics. In this review, we aim to address the methodological and practical issues that may have limited the consistency of findings across research groups and different patient populations. Given the neurobiological relevance of these oscillations, which reflect the integrity of thalamocortical and cortico-cortical function, research in this domain should be encouraged. To promote widespread consensus over the scientific and clinical implications of these sleep-related phenomena, we advocate uniform and sound methodological approaches. These should encompass electroencephalographic recording and analysis techniques but also selection criteria and characterization of clinical populations.

Sleep Spindle Deficit in Schizophrenia: Contextualization of Recent Findings.

Sleep spindles are wax and waning brain oscillations at a frequency range of 11-16 Hz, lasting 0.5-2 s, that define non-rapid eye movement sleep stage 2. Over the past few years, several independent studies pointed to a decrease of sleep spindles in schizophrenia. The aim of this review is to contextualize these findings within the growing literature on these oscillations across other neuro-psychiatric disorders. Indeed, spindles reflect the coordinated activity of thalamocortical networks, and their abnormality can be observed in a variety of conditions that disrupt local or global thalamocortical connectivity. Although the broad methodological variability across studies limits the possibility of drawing firm conclusions, impaired spindling activity has been observed in several neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Despite such lack of specificity, schizophrenia remains the only condition with a typical late adolescence to young adulthood onset in which impaired spindling has been consistently reported. Further research is necessary to clearly define the pathogenetic mechanisms that lead to this deficit and the validity of its widespread use as a clinical biomarker.

Asenapine in the Treatment of Acute Mania: A Real-World Observational Study With 6 Months Follow-Up.

Asenapine is a second-generation antipsychotic with a unique pharmacological profile that was recently approved for the treatment of moderate/severe manic episodes. Real-world data on rapidity of action in inpatient settings are lacking.The aims of the current real-world observational study were to evaluate: (i) short-term efficacy of asenapine after 7 days (T0-T1) in patients hospitalized for a manic episode in the course of bipolar I disorder or schizoaffective disorder (group A), (ii) differences in length of stay (LoS), and (iii) rehospitalization compared to a control population (group B) with a 6-month follow-up.Twenty patients were included in each group. The mean total Young Mania Rating Scale score decreased by 12.6 (SD ±10.3; t(17) = 5.2, P < 0.005), implying a mean 37.8% improvement. A statistically significant reduction was observed for all Young Mania Rating Scale items, except for "sexual interest." The mean total BPRS score decreased by 17.2 (SD ±14.9; t(17) = 4.9, P < 0.005). A statistically significant reduction was observed for several items, including "conceptual disorganization," "grandiosity," "unusual thought content," and "excitement". Length of stay was 17.9 (SD ±9.0) days for group A and 14.7 (SD ±12.7) days for group B; the result of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant differences (χ = 2.199, P = 0.138). Despite a high discontinuation rate, only 17.7% of patients in group A were rehospitalized in the following 6 months compared to 41.2% of those in group B (relative risk = 0.43, 95% confidence interval, 0.13-1.39).Findings from this small, preliminary study at least partially support the results of previous trials, confirming effectiveness and tolerability in the context of comorbidity and polypsychopharmacology.

Right hemisphere neural activations in the recall of waking fantasies and of dreams.

The story-like organization of dreams is characterized by a pervasive bizarreness of events and actions that resembles psychotic thought, and largely exceeds that observed in normal waking fantasies. Little is known about the neural correlates of the confabulatory narrative construction of dreams. In this study, dreams, fantasies elicited by ambiguous pictorial stimuli, and non-imaginative first- and third-person narratives from healthy participants were recorded, and were then studied for brain blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging on a 3.0-Tesla scanner while listening to their own narrative reports and attempting a retrieval of the corresponding experience. In respect to non-bizarre reports of daytime activities, the script-driven recall of dreams and fantasies differentially activated a right hemisphere network including areas in the inferior frontal gyrus, and superior and middle temporal gyrus. Neural responses were significantly greater for fantasies than for dreams in all regions, and inversely proportional to the degree of bizarreness observed in narrative reports. The inferior frontal gyrus, superior and middle temporal gyrus have been implicated in the semantic activation, integration and selection needed to build a coherent story representation and to resolve semantic ambiguities; in deductive and inferential reasoning; in self- and other-perspective taking, theory of mind, moral and autobiographical reasoning. Their degree of activation could parallel the level of logical robustness or inconsistency experienced when integrating information and mental representations in the process of building fantasy and dream narratives.

The parasomnia defense in sleep-related homicide: A systematic review and a critical analysis of the medical literature.

This review critically analyzes the forensic application of the Parasomnia Defense in homicidal incidents, drawing from medical literature on disorders of arousal (DOA) and rapid-eye-movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD). A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane databases was conducted until October 16, 2022. We screened English-language articles in peer-reviewed journals discussing murders committed during sleep with a Parasomnia Defense. We followed PRISMA guidelines, extracting event details, diagnosis methods, factors influencing the acts, perpetrator behavior, timing, motives, concealment, mental experiences, victim demographics, and court verdicts. Three sleep experts evaluated each case. We selected ten homicides, four attempted homicides, and one homicide/attempted homicide that met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Most cases were suspected DOA as unanimously confirmed by experts. RBD cases were absent. Among aggressors, a minority reported dream-like experiences. Victims were primarily female family members killed in or near the bed by hands and/or with sharp objects. Objective sleep data and important crime scene details were often missing. Verdicts were ununiform. Homicides during DOA episodes, though rare, are documented, validating the Parasomnia Defense's use in forensics. RBD-related fatal aggression seems very uncommon. However, cases often lack diagnostic clarity. We propose updated guidelines to enhance future reporting and understanding of such incidents.

The Italian version of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) and its psychometric features in help-seeking ultra-high-risk subjects and in the general population.

BACKGROUND: Increasing attention to the early stages of psychosis and the identification of symptomatic prodromal states have led to the development of a growing number of screening tools. The 16-item version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) is a worldwide used self-administered tool for this purpose. However, to date, fundamental psychometric properties of PQ-16 were not thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to examine the structural validity, measurement invariance, reliability and other psychometrical properties of the Italian version of the PQ-16 (iPQ-16) in help-seeking individuals and in the general population. METHODS: The iPQ-16 was administered to 449 young outpatients attending six community mental health services and to 318 control participants enrolled in educational environment. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), measurement invariance (MI) between the help-seeking group and the general population sample, convergent validity, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and prevalence analyses were performed. Lastly, the validity of the adopted PQ-16 cut-offs through Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves plotted against CAARMS diagnoses was also tested. RESULTS: CFAs confirmed the single-factor structure for the iPQ-16 and scalar MI was reached. The iPQ-16 showed high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and acceptable diagnostic accuracy. ROC analysis suggested a score of ≥4 as best cut-off. CONCLUSIONS: The iPQ-16 represents a valid and reliable questionnaire for the assessment of high mental risk in both Italian outpatients and general student population. It has good psychometric properties and is easy to implement as UHR screening for clinical as well as research purposes.

Conscious experiences during non-rapid eye movement sleep parasomnias.

Disorders of Arousal (DOA) are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) parasomnias traditionally regarded as unconscious states. However, recent research challenges this assumption. This narrative review aims to explore the presence and qualitative features of conscious experiences in patients with DOA during their episodes. The literature indicates a higher recall of conscious experiences during DOA episodes than previously believed, estimated at about 50-60 % in adults (immediately post-episode). Data on children are limited but suggest a lower recall rate (<30 % when interviewed retrospectively). Patient reports range from brief scenic fragments to elaborate scenarios with plot development, often fraught with negative emotions and misfortunes and with considerable correspondence between subjective experiences and observed behaviors. In many of the described cases, patients appear to enact their dreams, entering a hallucinatory state where internally generated images overlay external percepts. The potential implications for clinical management, research endeavors, and legal considerations regarding nocturnal violence, along with existing limitations and controversial points, are discussed.

Spectral Dynamics Prior to Motor Events Differ Between NREM Sleep Parasomnias and Healthy Sleepers.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The umbrella term "Disorders of Arousal" (DoA), encompassing sleepwalking, confusional arousals, and sleep terrors, refers to parasomnias manifesting during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, commonly thought to arise from an aberrant arousal process. While previous studies have detailed EEG changes linked to DoA episodes, it remains uncertain how these alterations differ from a physiological arousal process. This study directly compared brain activity between DoA episodes and arousals associated with physiological movements (motor arousal) in individuals with DoA and healthy sleepers. METHODS: Fifty-three adult patients with DoA (25 males, 32.2±15.5years) and 33 control subjects (14 males, 31.4±11.4years) underwent one or more home-EEG recordings. A semiparametric regression model was employed to elucidate the complex relationship between EEG activity across channels, within and across different groups, including motor arousals in DoA (n=169), parasomnia episodes in DoA (n=361), and motor arousals in healthy sleepers (n=137). RESULTS: Parasomnia episodes and motor arousals in both groups were preceded by a diffuse increase in slow-wave activity (SWA) and beta power, and a widespread decrease in sigma power. However, motor arousals in DoA displayed lower beta and central sigma than in healthy sleepers. Within DoA patients, episodes were preceded by lower beta, frontal sigma, and higher SWA than motor arousals. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the arousal process is altered in DOA patients, and that specific EEG patterns are required for DOA episodes to emerge. These insights will help guide future research into the underlying circuits and objective markers of DOA.

Proof-of-concept evidence for high-density EEG investigation of sleep slow wave traveling in First-Episode Psychosis.

Schizophrenia is thought to reflect aberrant connectivity within cortico-cortical and reentrant thalamo-cortical loops, which physiologically integrate and coordinate the function of multiple cortical and subcortical structures. Despite extensive research, reliable biomarkers of such "dys-connectivity" remain to be identified at the onset of psychosis, and before exposure to antipsychotic drugs. Because slow waves travel across the brain during sleep, they represent an ideal paradigm to study pathological conditions affecting brain connectivity. Here, we provide proof-of-concept evidence for a novel approach to investigate slow wave traveling properties in First-Episode Psychosis (FEP) with high-density electroencephalography (EEG). Whole-night sleep recordings of 5 drug-naïve FEP and 5 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects were obtained with a 256-channel EEG system. One patient was re-recorded after 6 months and 3 years of continuous clozapine treatment. Slow wave detection and traveling properties were obtained with an open-source toolbox. Slow wave density and slow wave traveled distance (measured as the line of longest displacement) were significantly lower in patients (p < 0.05). In the patient who was tested longitudinally during effective clozapine treatment, slow wave density normalized, while traveling distance only partially recovered. These preliminary findings suggest that slow wave traveling could be employed in larger samples to detect cortical "dys-connectivity" at psychosis onset.

Diagnosis and Management of NREM Sleep Parasomnias in Children and Adults.

Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep parasomnias are recurrent abnormal behaviors emerging as incomplete arousals out of NREM sleep. Mounting evidence on NREM sleep parasomnias calls for an update of clinical and therapeutical strategies. In the current review, we summarize the state of the art and provide the necessary background to stimulate a critical revision of diagnostic criteria of disorders of arousal (DoA), the most common NREM sleep parasomnia. In particular, we highlight the poor sensitivity of the diagnostic items related to amnesia and absence of conscious experiences during DoA episodes, encourage the role of video-polysomnography and home-video recordings in the diagnostic and treatment work-up, and suggest three levels of diagnostic certainty based on clinical and objective findings. Furthermore, we highlight current gaps of knowledge that prevent the definition of standard guidelines and future research avenues.

Electrophysiological and Neuropsychological Indices of Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with Chronic Insomnia and Severe Benzodiazepine Use Disorder.

Benzodiazepine (BDZ) misuse is a growing health problem, with 1-2% of patients under BDZ treatment meeting the criteria for use disorder or dependence. Although BDZ addiction potential has been known for decades, much remains unknown its effects on brain functions. The aim of this study was to assess the neuropsychological and neurophysiological profile of a group of chronic insomniacs taking long-term high doses of benzodiazepine. We recruited 17 consecutive patients admitted to our third-level Sleep Medicine Unit for drug discontinuation (7 males, mean age 49.2 ± 11.2 years, mean education 13.7 ± 3.9 years, mean daily diazepam-equivalent BDZ: 238.1 ± 84.5 mg) and 17 gender/age-matched healthy controls (7 males, mean age 46.8 ± 14.1 years, mean education 13.5 ± 4.5 years). We performed a full neuropsychological evaluation of all subjects and recorded their scalp event-related potentials (Mismatch-Passive Oddball-Paradigm and Active Oddball P300 Paradigm). Patients with chronic insomnia and BDZ use disorder showed a profound frontal lobe executive dysfunction with significant impairment in the cognitive flexibility domain, in face of a preserved working, short and long-term memory. In patients, P300 amplitude tended to be smaller, mainly over the frontal regions, compared to controls. BDZ use disorder has a severe cognitive impact on chronic insomnia patients. Long-term high-dose BDZ intake should be carefully evaluated and managed by clinicians in this specific patient population, especially in relation to risky activities.

Psychobiological personality traits of children and adolescents with disorders of arousal.

INTRODUCTION: Disorders of arousal (DOA) are parasomnias that emerge from incomplete arousal out of Non-Rem Sleep (NREM) and lead to a broad variety of emotional and motor behaviours. Increasing evidence supports the hypothesis that specific psychopathological traits contribute to the multifactorial origin of these phenomena. The aim of the current multicenter study was to compare the personality profile of children and adolescents with and without DOA using the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI). METHODS: We enrolled 36 patients with a diagnosis of DOA (mean age of 11 ± 3 years, 64% males), and 36 healthy age and gender matched control subjects (mean age of 11.2 ± 3.6, years, 67% males). Their parents completed the Paris Arousal Disorder Severity Scale (PADSS), the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) and the JTCI. RESULTS: Patients with DOA reached significantly higher levels compared to their control group in total PADSS (p < 0.0001) and in total SDSC (p < 0.0001). They also displayed higher scores in novelty seeking (p = 0.005), harm avoidance (p = 0.01), self-transcendence (p = 0.006) JTCI subscales, and lower scores on the self-directedness subscale (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Our pediatric sample with DOA exhibited specific psychobiological personality traits compared to age and gender matched subjects without DOA. These results shed light on new possible etiopathogenetic mechanisms, as TCI traits have been linked to specific genetic variants and brain circuits, like the reward system. Prospective studies are required to assess the effect of targeted psychological/psychiatric treatment on DOA symptomatology.

Fatigue, sleepiness and depression in multiple sclerosis: defining the overlaps for a better phenotyping.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To define the boundaries and the overlaps between fatigue, sleepiness and depression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) by using different tools for each dimension, including instrumental sleep analysis. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, observational study, 71 MS patients (males/females: 20/51; mean age: 48.9 ± 10.5 years) filled in clinical questionnaires and performed polysomnography followed by maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT). Frequency and reciprocal overlap of sleepiness, fatigue and depression in MS were expressed by Eulero-Venn diagrams; standard multiple regression was used to assess the ability of symptoms to predict each other. RESULTS: There was a high percentage of fatigued (70%), somnolent (45%) and depressed (27%) patients. Fatigue had the strongest overlap and correlated with both depression (beta: 0.52, p < 0.001) and sleepiness (beta: 0.74, p < 0.001). Somnolence and depression were nearly always accompanied by fatigue and were well differentiated from each other by MWT. Four MS subgroups were identified that had: (1) fatigue only; (2) fatigue and sleepiness (3) fatigue and depression; (4) fatigue, sleepiness and depression. DISCUSSION: The subjective and objective tools are not able to clearly distinguish fatigue from sleepiness and depression, while only a test of vigilance can be helpful in separating somnolence and depression from each other.