Alpha intrusions in sleep

Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis has a 7.6% lifetime prevalence of at least one episode in the general population. Episodes resolve spontaneously and are benign. Sleep paralysis represents a dissociate state, with persistence of the rapid eye movement (REM)-sleep muscle atonia in the waking state. The intrusion of alpha electroencephalogram into REM sleep is followed by an arousal response and then by persistence of REM atonia into wakefulness. Predisposing factors include irregular sleep-wake schedules, sleep deprivation, and jetlag...

Sustained attention describes our ability to keep a constant focus on a given task. This ability is modulated by our physiological state of arousal. Although lapses of sustained attention have been linked with dysregulations of arousal, the underlying physiological mechanisms remain unclear. An emerging body of work proposes that the intrusion during wakefulness of sleep-like slow waves, a marker of the transition toward sleep, could mechanistically account for attentional lapses. This study aimed to expose, via pharmacological manipulations of the monoamine system, the relationship between the occurrence of sleep-like slow waves and the behavioral consequences of sustained attention failures...

The Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has provoked the development of negative emotions in almost all societies since it first broke out in late 2019. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) is widely used to capture emotions, thoughts, and behaviors evoked by traumatic events, including COVID-19 as a collective and persistent traumatic event. However, there is less agreement on the structure of the IES-R, signifying a need for further investigation. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the IES-R among individuals in Saudi quarantine settings, psychiatric patients, and the general public during the COVID-19 outbreak...

Functional neurological disorders are characterized by neurologic symptoms not consistent with a primary neurologic pathology. Although neurological disorders are commonly associated with poor sleep, alpha intrusion of slow-wave sleep is not described in cases of functional neurological disorder. We describe a case demonstrating an alpha-delta sleep pattern in a patient presenting with a functional neurological disorder and no perception of sleep. Although alpha-delta sleep is more commonly associated with fibromyalgia, this pattern may be a potential biomarker for the physiology of sleep misperception and potentially functional neurologic symptoms disorder...

Nurses working amid the COVID-19 pandemic are at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study was conducted to verify the reliability and validity of the Korean version of Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), one of the most used tools for assessing trauma. Secondary data of 249 nurses who performed face-to-face nursing tasks during the COVID-19 pandemic, collected through an online survey, were analyzed by conducting a factor analysis of the K-IES-R and testing the internal consistency and concurrent validity with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7), and Dimensions of Anger Reactions-5 (DAR-5)...

Study Objectives: Effect of COVID-19 on sleep architecture is not known. This study was done to find out EEG changes seen during sleep in COVID-19 survivors. Methodology: In this prospective single centre study, consecutive patients diagnosed with RTPCR confirmed COVID 19 were included after 4-6 weeks of discharge from hospital. All patients underwent level I PSG. EEG was analysed for presence of abnormal EEG pattern. Results: Total 189 patients were contacted telephonically for participation in this study...

Observation of episodes of sleepwalking and prolonged partial sleep paralysis in the same patient is a rare condition. We present a case of 42 years gentleman who presented with recurrent episodes of sleepwalking and prolonged incomplete sleep paralysis. He was on tablet divalproate 1000mg/day and tablet olanzapine 5mg/day in view of a psychotic episode that occurred 4 years ago. Polysomnography suggested presence of moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with intrusion of alpha waves in sleep. Considering only one psychotic episode with no other risk factors, these medications were gradually tapered and discontinued...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: New EEG features became available for use in polysomnography and have shown promise in early studies. They include a continuous index of sleep depth (Odds-Ratio-Product; ORP), agreement between right and left sleep depth (R/L coefficient), dynamics of sleep recovery following arousals (ORP-9), general EEG amplification (EEG Power), alpha intrusion and arousal intensity. This study was undertaken to establish ranges and reproducibility of these features in subjects with different demographics and clinical status...

Increased REM density and alpha intrusion are routinely seen in COVID-19 patient. These findings may correlate with unstable sleep pattern in COVID-19 survivors and therefore, sleep hygiene and proper counselling should be emphasized upon. Clinicians and technicians should be aware of these EEG changes with reference to COVID-19 survivors in interpreting polysomnography.

The pathogenesis of fibromyalgia is still unknown. Core symptoms include pain, depression and sleep disturbances with high comorbidity, suggesting alterations in the monoaminergic system as a common origin of this disease. The reserpine-induced myalgia model (RIM) lowers pain thresholds and produces depressive-like symptoms. The present work aims to evaluate temporal dynamics in the oscillatory profiles and motor activity during sleep in this model and to evaluate if the model mimics the sleep disorders that occur in fibromyalgia patients...

INTRODUCTION: Fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms worsen in a significant portion of patients with the onset of menopause. Some patients report that their symptoms begin after menopause, suggesting a relationship between these entities. Sleep disturbance is a common condition in FM and menopause, and it is associated with chronic pain. METHODS/OBJECTIVES: Several electronic databases were searched, from the first available year to April 2018 to evaluate the publications that assessed the effects of menopause and sleep disturbance on the appearance or worsening of FM and the role of hormone therapy for these patients...

INTRODUCTION: Youth exposed to trauma have an increased risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated sleep disturbances and nightmares. The alpha-1 antagonist prazosin reduces sleep disturbances and nightmares in adults with PTSD; however, its use in youth with PTSD has not been systematically evaluated. We retrospectively examined the tolerability and clinical outcomes associated with prazosin treatment in youth with PTSD-related nightmares and dysomnias. METHOD: A retrospective chart review identified youth with PTSD (N = 40) treated with prazosin between 2014 and 2016 in a trauma clinic...

Sleep assessment is of great importance in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. In clinical practice this is typically performed based on polysomnography recordings and manual sleep staging by experts. This procedure has the disadvantages that the measurements are cumbersome, may have a negative influence on the sleep, and the clinical assessment is labor intensive. Addressing the latter, there has recently been encouraging progress in the field of automatic sleep staging [1]. Furthermore, a minimally obtrusive method for recording EEG from electrodes in the ear (ear-EEG) has recently been proposed [2]...

Sleep assessment is of great importance in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. In clinical practice this is typically performed based on polysomnography recordings and manual sleep staging by experts. This procedure has the disadvantages that the measurements are cumbersome, may have a negative influence on the sleep, and the clinical assessment is labor intensive. Addressing the latter, there has recently been encouraging progress in the field of automatic sleep staging [1]. Furthermore, a minimally obtrusive method for recording EEG from electrodes in the ear (ear-EEG) has recently been proposed [2]...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex syndrome that may occur after exposure to one or more traumatic events. It associates physiological, emotional, and cognitive changes Brain and hormonal modifications contribute to some impairments in learning, memory, and emotion regulation. Some of these biological dysfunctions may be analyzed in terms of rhythms dysregulation that would be expressed through endocrine rhythmicity, sleep organization, and temporal synchrony in brain activity. In the first part of this article, we report studies on endocrine rhythmicity revealing that some rhythms abnormalities are frequently observed, although not constantly, for both cortisol and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity...

Alpha-delta sleep is the abnormal intrusion of alpha activity (8- to 13-Hz oscillations) into the delta activity (1- to 4-Hz oscillations) that defines slow-wave sleep. Alpha-delta sleep is especially prevalent in fibromyalgia patients, and there is evidence suggesting that the irregularities in the sleep of these patients may cause the muscle and tissue pain that characterizes the disorder. We constructed a biophysically realistic mathematical model of alpha-delta sleep. Imaging studies in fibromyalgia patients suggesting altered levels of activity in the thalamus motivated a thalamic model as the source of alpha activity...

The transition from a relaxed to a drowsy state of mind is often accompanied by hypnagogic experiences: most commonly, perceptual imagery, but also linguistic intrusions, i.e., the sudden emergence of unpredictable anomalies in the stream of inner speech. This study has sought to describe the contents of such intrusions, to verify their association with the progression of sleep onset, and to investigate the electroencephalographic processes associated with linguistic intrusions as opposed to more common hypnagogic perceptual imagery...

We present a description of the Central Sensitivity Syndrome (CSS) and some of its main components such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. We review the changes in pain perception, describing the physiology and pathophysiology of the painful experience from the medulla horn to the CNS. We explain the theory of central sensitization as the basis to the syndrome. We refer to the differences between fibromyalgia and depressive disorders, is spite of their frequent presentation in comorbidity...

OBJECTIVE: Although children with autism spectrum disorders experience a range of sleep disturbances, exact mechanisms are not well-characterized. We investigated the association of serum-ferritin to sleep fragmentation and periodic limb movements of sleep using polysomnography in children with autism spectrum disorders. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of children with autism spectrum disorders followed from 1990 to 2010. Inclusion criteria were availability of polysomnography data and ferritin levels within 12 months of each other...

Neurofeedback may be useful for improving sports performance but few studies have examined this potential. Here we present data of five development players from a major league baseball team. The aims were to evaluate the feasibility of conducting sessions within a professional organization, assess changes in quantitative electroencephalograph (QEEG), NeuroPerformance Profile™, and report qualitative self-report data before and after brain training. The EEG was recorded with 19 electrodes for 20 min of baseline conditions and approximately 21 min of a continuous performance test...