Maturation-dependent changes in cortical and thalamic activity during sleep slow waves: Insights from a combined EEG-fMRI study.
Sleep Med
; 113: 357-369, 2024 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38113618
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Studies using scalp EEG have shown that slow waves (0.5-4 Hz), the most prominent hallmark of NREM sleep, undergo relevant changes from childhood to adulthood, mirroring brain structural modifications and the acquisition of cognitive skills. Here we used simultaneous EEG-fMRI to investigate the cortical and subcortical correlates of slow waves in school-age children and determine their relative developmental changes.METHODS:
We analyzed data from 14 school-age children with self-limited focal epilepsy of childhood who fell asleep during EEG-fMRI recordings. Brain regions associated with slow-wave occurrence were identified using a voxel-wise regression that also modelled interictal epileptic discharges and sleep spindles. At the group level, a mixed-effects linear model was used. The results were qualitatively compared with those obtained from 2 adolescents with epilepsy and 17 healthy adults.RESULTS:
Slow waves were associated with hemodynamic-signal decreases in bilateral somatomotor areas. Such changes extended more posteriorly relative to those in adults. Moreover, the involvement of areas belonging to the default mode network changes as a function of age. No significant hemodynamic responses were observed in subcortical structures. However, we identified a significant correlation between age and thalamic hemodynamic changes.CONCLUSIONS:
Present findings indicate that the somatomotor cortex may have a key role in slow-wave expression throughout the lifespan. At the same time, they are consistent with a posterior-to-anterior shift in slow-wave distribution mirroring brain maturational changes. Finally, our results suggest that slow-wave changes may not reflect only neocortical modifications but also the maturation of subcortical structures, including the thalamus.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
/
Epilepsy
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Sleep Med
Journal subject:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOFISIOLOGIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italia
Country of publication:
Países Bajos