Altered EEG markers of synaptic plasticity in a human model of NMDA receptor deficiency: Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Plasticity of synaptic strength and density is a vital mechanism enabling memory consolidation, learning, and neurodevelopment. It is strongly dependent on the intact function of N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors (NMDAR). The importance of NMDAR is further evident as their dysfunction is involved in many diseases such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, neurodevelopmental disorders, and epilepsies.

The Swiss Primary Hypersomnolence and Narcolepsy Cohort study (SPHYNCS): Study protocol for a prospective, multicentre cohort observational study.

Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a disorder with well-established markers and a suspected autoimmune aetiology. Conversely, the narcoleptic borderland (NBL) disorders, including narcolepsy type 2, idiopathic hypersomnia, insufficient sleep syndrome and hypersomnia associated with a psychiatric disorder, lack well-defined markers and remain controversial in terms of aetiology, diagnosis and management. The Swiss Primary Hypersomnolence and Narcolepsy Cohort Study (SPHYNCS) is a comprehensive multicentre cohort study, which will investigate the clinical picture, pathophysiology and long-term course of NT1 and the NBL.

The experience-dependent increase in deep sleep activity is reduced in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Objective/background: Learning of a visuomotor adaptation task during wakefulness leads to a local increase in slow-wave activity (SWA, EEG power between 1 and 4.5 Hz) during subsequent deep sleep. Here, we examined this relationship between learning and SWA in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Sleep EEG slow-wave activity in medicated and unmedicated children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Slow waves (1-4.5 Hz) are the most characteristic oscillations of deep non-rapid eye movement sleep. The EEG power in this frequency range (slow-wave activity, SWA) parallels changes in cortical connectivity (i.

How do children fall asleep? A high-density EEG study of slow waves in the transition from wake to sleep.

Introduction: Slow waves, the hallmarks of non-rapid eye-movement (NREM) sleep, are thought to reflect maturational changes that occur in the cerebral cortex throughout childhood and adolescence. Recent work in adults has revealed evidence for two distinct synchronization processes involved in the generation of slow waves, which sequentially come into play in the transition to sleep. In order to understand how these two processes are affected by developmental changes, we compared slow waves between children and young adults in the falling asleep period.

Theta waves in children's waking electroencephalogram resemble local aspects of sleep during wakefulness.

Vyazovskiy and colleagues found in rats' multi-unit recordings brief periods of silence (off-states) in local populations of cortical neurons during wakefulness which closely resembled the characteristic off-states during sleep. These off-states became more global and frequent with increasing sleep pressure and were associated with the well-known increase of theta activity under sleep deprivation in the surface EEG. Moreover, the occurrence of such off-states was related to impaired performance.

High-Density Electroencephalographic Recordings During Sleep in Children and Adolescents With Acquired Brain Injury.

Background: Acquired brain injuries (ABI) such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke can result in motor, language, or cognitive impairments. Although a considerable number of studies have investigated functional recovery, underlying brain reorganization remains poorly understood. Accumulating evidence indicates that plastic processes in the brain are linked to changes in electroencephalographic (EEG) slow wave activity (SWA) during deep sleep (EEG spectral power 1-4.

Developmental trajectories of EEG sleep slow wave activity as a marker for motor skill development during adolescence: a pilot study.

Reliable markers for brain maturation are important to identify neural deviations that eventually predict the development of mental illnesses. Recent studies have proposed topographical EEG-derived slow wave activity (SWA) during NREM sleep as a mirror of cortical development. However, studies about the longitudinal stability as well as the relationship with behavioral skills are needed before SWA topography may be considered such a reliable marker.

High-density electroencephalographic recordings during sleep in children with disorders of consciousness.

Introduction: A large number of studies have investigated neural correlates of consciousness in adults. However, knowledge about brain function in children with disorders of consciousness (DOC) is very limited. We suggest that EEG recordings during sleep are a promising approach.

Spike wave location and density disturb sleep slow waves in patients with CSWS (continuous spike waves during sleep).

Objective: In CSWS (continuous spike waves during sleep) activation of spike waves during slow wave sleep has been causally linked to neuropsychological deficits, but the pathophysiologic mechanisms are still unknown. In healthy subjects, the overnight decrease of the slope of slow waves in NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep has been linked to brain recovery to regain optimal cognitive performance. Here, we investigated whether the electrophysiologic hallmark of CSWS, the spike waves during sleep, is related to an alteration in the overnight decrease of the slope, and if this alteration is linked to location and density of spike waves.

The sleep EEG topography in children and adolescents shows sex differences in language areas.

The topographic distribution of slow wave activity (SWA, EEG power between 0.75 and 4.5 Hz) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep was proposed to mirror cortical maturation with a typical age-related pattern.

Topography of sleep slow wave activity in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Introduction: Sleep slow wave activity (SWA, EEG power between 1 and 4.5 Hz) is a major characteristic of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, which seems to be critically involved in cortical plasticity. Studies using high-density electroencephalography (hd-EEG) showed that the topographical distribution of SWA mirrors cortical maturation, expressing a local maximum that is characteristic for a certain age range.

Mapping the electrophysiological marker of sleep depth reveals skill maturation in children and adolescents.

Electroencephalographically (EEG) recorded slow wave activity (SWA, 1-4.5Hz), reflecting the depth of sleep, is suggested to play a crucial role in synaptic plasticity. Mapping of SWA by means of high-density EEG reveals that cortical regions showing signs of maturational changes (structural and behavioral) during childhood and adolescence exhibit more SWA.

Sleep electroencephalography topography and children's intellectual ability.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between regional aspects of the children's sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) (high-density EEG recordings) and their intellectual ability. The spectral power in the α, σ, and β frequency ranges of 109 EEG derivations was correlated with the scores of full-scale intelligence quotient, fluid intelligence quotient, and working memory (14 participants, mean age: 10.5±1.

Developmental aspects of sleep slow waves: linking sleep, brain maturation and behavior.

Sleep slow waves are the major electrophysiological features of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Although there is growing understanding of where slow waves originate and how they are generated during sleep, the function of slow waves is still largely unclear. A recently proposed hypothesis relates slow waves to the homeostatic regulation of synaptic plasticity.

Long-term exposure to music enhances the sensitivity of the auditory system in children.

This event-related brain potential study aims to contribute to the present debate regarding the effect of musical training on the maturation of the human auditory nervous system. To address this issue, we recorded the mismatch negativity (MMN) evoked by violin and pure sine-wave tones in a group of 7.5- to 12-year-old children who had either several years of musical experience with Suzuki violin lessons, or no musical training.

Anatomical markers of sleep slow wave activity derived from structural magnetic resonance images.

Sleep studies often observe differences in slow wave activity (SWA) during non-rapid eye movement sleep between subjects. This study investigates to what extent these absolute differences in SWA can be explained with differences in grey matter volume, white matter volume or the thickness of skull and outer liquor rooms. To do this, we selected the 10-min interval showing maximal SWA of 20 young adult subjects and correlated these values lobe-wise with grey matter, skull and liquor thickness and globally with white matter as well as segments of the corpus callosum.

The sleep EEG as a marker of intellectual ability in school age children.

Study Objectives: To investigate the within-subject stability in the sleep EEG and the association between the sleep EEG and intellectual abilities in 9- to 12-year-old children.

Design: Intellectual ability (WISC-IV, full scale, fluid, and verbal IQ, working memory, speed of processing) were examined and all-night polysomnography was performed (2 nights per subject).

Setting: Sleep laboratory.

Mapping of cortical activity in the first two decades of life: a high-density sleep electroencephalogram study.

Evidence that electroencephalography (EEG) slow-wave activity (SWA) (EEG spectral power in the 1-4.5 Hz band) during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) reflects plastic changes is increasing (Tononi and Cirelli, 2006). Regional assessment of gray matter development from neuroimaging studies reveals a posteroanterior trajectory of cortical maturation in the first three decades of life (Shaw et al.

EEG sleep slow-wave activity as a mirror of cortical maturation.

Deep (slow wave) sleep shows extensive maturational changes from childhood through adolescence, which is reflected in a decrease of sleep depth measured as the activity of electroencephalographic (EEG) slow waves. This decrease in sleep depth is paralleled by massive synaptic remodeling during adolescence as observed in anatomical studies, which supports the notion that adolescence represents a sensitive period for cortical maturation. To assess the relationship between slow-wave activity (SWA) and cortical maturation, we acquired sleep EEG and magnetic resonance imaging data in children and adolescents between 8 and 19 years.