Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function

Sleep difficulties are commonly reported following traumatic brain injury (TBI), but few studies have systematically examined the neurophysiological characteristics of sleep. Sleep EEG was quantified over multiple nights to examine mechanisms underlying sleep disruption in individuals who had sustai...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kimberly A Cote, Catherine E Milner, Tamara A Speth
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIMS Press 2015-10-01
Series:AIMS Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.aimspress.com/neuroscience/article/476/fulltext.html
_version_ 1818519501843464192
author Kimberly A Cote
Catherine E Milner
Tamara A Speth
author_facet Kimberly A Cote
Catherine E Milner
Tamara A Speth
author_sort Kimberly A Cote
collection DOAJ
description Sleep difficulties are commonly reported following traumatic brain injury (TBI), but few studies have systematically examined the neurophysiological characteristics of sleep. Sleep EEG was quantified over multiple nights to examine mechanisms underlying sleep disruption in individuals who had sustained a TBI and to explore the relationship between sleep disruption and waking function. Sleep was recorded from 20 individuals with a TBI (18-64 years) and 20 age-matched controls over two uninterrupted nights, as well as during a night where auditory stimuli were delivered. All participants underwent neuropsychological testing and waking performance assessment. Compared to controls, the TBI group had subjective complaints of falling asleep, delayed sleep onset on polysomnography (PSG), less Slow Wave (< 1 Hz) and delta (1-4 Hz) EEG power in non-REM sleep, fewer spontaneous and evoked k-complexes, reduced periodicity of spontaneous k-complexes, and lower amplitude of evoked k-complexes. While for controls, the density, duration and periodicity of sleep spindles diminished with deepening of non-REM as typically observed, this pattern was disrupted in the TBI group with peak spindle presentation occurring in Stage 3 sleep. Night-to-night-stability of Stage 2 spindles was high for controls but absent for the TBI group. Greater injury severity was related to fewer evoked k-complexes and lower spindle density. Greater spindle production predicted better waking function in the TBI group. Taken together, these data demonstrate impairment in sleep regulatory and inhibitory mechanisms as factors underlying sleep complaints following a TBI. Spindle generation may be adaptive or a marker of resiliency following TBI.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T01:25:02Z
format Article
id doaj.art-ae6a1cfe820042fc9adf3a9c47d56e4b
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2373-7972
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-11T01:25:02Z
publishDate 2015-10-01
publisher AIMS Press
record_format Article
series AIMS Neuroscience
spelling doaj.art-ae6a1cfe820042fc9adf3a9c47d56e4b2022-12-22T01:25:35ZengAIMS PressAIMS Neuroscience2373-79722015-10-012420322810.3934/Neuroscience.2015.4.203201504203Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking FunctionKimberly A Cote0Catherine E Milner1Tamara A Speth2Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, CanadaSleep difficulties are commonly reported following traumatic brain injury (TBI), but few studies have systematically examined the neurophysiological characteristics of sleep. Sleep EEG was quantified over multiple nights to examine mechanisms underlying sleep disruption in individuals who had sustained a TBI and to explore the relationship between sleep disruption and waking function. Sleep was recorded from 20 individuals with a TBI (18-64 years) and 20 age-matched controls over two uninterrupted nights, as well as during a night where auditory stimuli were delivered. All participants underwent neuropsychological testing and waking performance assessment. Compared to controls, the TBI group had subjective complaints of falling asleep, delayed sleep onset on polysomnography (PSG), less Slow Wave (&lt; 1 Hz) and delta (1-4 Hz) EEG power in non-REM sleep, fewer spontaneous and evoked k-complexes, reduced periodicity of spontaneous k-complexes, and lower amplitude of evoked k-complexes. While for controls, the density, duration and periodicity of sleep spindles diminished with deepening of non-REM as typically observed, this pattern was disrupted in the TBI group with peak spindle presentation occurring in Stage 3 sleep. Night-to-night-stability of Stage 2 spindles was high for controls but absent for the TBI group. Greater injury severity was related to fewer evoked k-complexes and lower spindle density. Greater spindle production predicted better waking function in the TBI group. Taken together, these data demonstrate impairment in sleep regulatory and inhibitory mechanisms as factors underlying sleep complaints following a TBI. Spindle generation may be adaptive or a marker of resiliency following TBI.http://www.aimspress.com/neuroscience/article/476/fulltext.htmltraumatic brain injury (TBI)sleepsleep regulationelectroencephalography (EEG)<BR>k-complexessleep spindles
spellingShingle Kimberly A Cote
Catherine E Milner
Tamara A Speth
Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function
AIMS Neuroscience
traumatic brain injury (TBI)
sleep
sleep regulation
electroencephalography (EEG)
<BR>k-complexes
sleep spindles
title Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function
title_full Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function
title_fullStr Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function
title_full_unstemmed Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function
title_short Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function
title_sort altered sleep mechanisms following traumatic brain injury and relation to waking function
topic traumatic brain injury (TBI)
sleep
sleep regulation
electroencephalography (EEG)
<BR>k-complexes
sleep spindles
url http://www.aimspress.com/neuroscience/article/476/fulltext.html
work_keys_str_mv AT kimberlyacote alteredsleepmechanismsfollowingtraumaticbraininjuryandrelationtowakingfunction
AT catherineemilner alteredsleepmechanismsfollowingtraumaticbraininjuryandrelationtowakingfunction
AT tamaraaspeth alteredsleepmechanismsfollowingtraumaticbraininjuryandrelationtowakingfunction