The role of arousal related brainstem reflexes in causing recovery from upper airway occlusion in infants.

During obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults upper airway reopening coincides with a sudden burst in activity of pharyngeal dilating muscles. This has been attributed to arousal from sleep as indicated by increased EEG activity. Recovery from OSA in infants often occurs in the absence of cortical arousal.

Spontaneous arousal activity in infants during NREM and REM sleep.

The infant arousal response involves subcortical and cortical responses occurring as a sequence of stereotyped behaviour regardless of the eliciting stimulus. The spontaneous activity of these responses during sleep, however, is uncertain. We examined the spontaneous arousal pattern in normal infants to determine the sequence of responses, and to examine their periodicity and the effects of sleep state.