Alpha intrusions in sleep

PURPOSE: Small, self-contained electromyographic (EMG) detector/analyzer (D/A) devices have become available for the detection of jaw muscle activity events above threshold. These devices claim to be less intrusive to the subjects sleep so it is less prone to induce disturbed sleep. The objective of this study was to evaluate for night-to-night variability and examine for a systematic alteration on the first night in EMG levels. METHODS: Ten asymptomatic healthy volunteers (mean age, 26...

Objective. Major depressive disorder is associated with sleep disturbances. An electroencephalographic pattern of alpha wave intrusion in delta wave sleep (alpha-delta sleep) is observed in some subjects with major depressive disorder. The treatment-resistant symptoms in major depressive disorder, nonrestorative sleep and fatigue, are associated with alpha-delta sleep. The objective of this study is to identify the prevalence and clinical correlates of alpha-delta sleep in major depressive disorder.Design. Retrospective studySetting...

REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is a REM sleep-related parasomnia which may be considered a "dissociated state of wakefulness and sleep", given that conflicting elements of REM sleep (dreaming) and of wakefulness (sustained muscle tone and movements) coexist during the episodes, leading to motor and behavioural manifestations reminiscent of an enacted dream. RBD has been reported in association with α-synucleinopathies: around a third of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have full-blown RBD. Recent data indicate that PD patients with RBD are more prone to hallucinations than PD patients without this parasomnia...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of sodium oxybate (SXB) on sleep physiology and sleep/wake-related symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM). METHODS: Of 304 patients with FM (American College of Rheumatology tender point criteria) in the screened study population, 209 underwent polysomnography, 195 were randomized, and 151 completed this 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of SXB 4.5 g and 6 g/night. We evaluated changes in objective sleep measures and subjective symptoms, including daytime sleepiness [Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)], fatigue visual analog scale (FVAS), sleep [Jenkins Scale for Sleep (JSS)], and daytime functioning [Functional Outcome of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ), SF-36 Vitality domain, and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) general and morning tiredness]...

Chronic fatigue and nonrestorative sleep are prominent features of fibromyalgia (FM). It has been reported that these patients have alpha-wave intrusion during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (stages 2,3,4). Although alpha-NREM sleep has been noted in patients with other rheumatic disorders, a paucity of controlled data limits the interpretation of these reports. To determine the specificity of alphaNREM sleep, FM patients were compared with pain-free controls and with patients with generalized musculoskeletal pain without evidence of FM...

A helmet-based system that was able to monitor the drowsiness of a soldier was developed. The helmet system monitored the electrocardiogram, electrooculogram and electroencephalogram (alpha waves) without constraints. Six dry electrodes were mounted at five locations on the helmet: both temporal sides, forehead region and upper and lower jaw strips. The electrodes were connected to an amplifier that transferred signals to a laptop computer via Bluetooth wireless communication. The system was validated by comparing the signal quality with conventional recording methods...

OBJECTIVES: To validate the Dutch and the French version of the Tinnitus Questionnaire and characterise the subscales. The original Tinnitus Questionnaire has already proven to be a usable measurement tool to discriminate complaining from non-complaining tinnitus patients and it provides differentiation into 5 dimensions. METHODS: The English version of the TQ was used. The Dutch and the French version were obtained by the process of translation and back-translation...

This study investigates the relationship between changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) and slow eye movements (SEMs) in the electro-oculogram (EOG) at the wake-sleep transition. Analysis of EEG and EOG is performed by the discrete wavelet transform and utilizes energy functions built within the multiresolution framework. In particular, SEMs are detected automatically by a computerized system, previously developed and validated; core of the system is a function of EOG energies at different scales of decomposition, which defines SEMs in rigorous energetic terms...

This article reviews the neurobiologic rationale for and presents clinical guidance concerning the use of medications that reduce central nervous system noradrenergic activity in the treatment of intrusive symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. The authors reviewed neurobiological studies, nonclinical studies using animal models, clinical case reports, open-label drug studies, and blinded, placebo-controlled drug studies. This review of the basic science and clinical literature, and the authors' clinical experience with culturally and demographically diverse populations, indicate that clonidine and prazosin can play a useful role in treating sleep disturbance and hyperarousal in posttraumatic stress disorder, with minimal adverse effects and low financial cost...

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) present a disordered sleep pattern and frequently undergo polysomnography to exclude a primary sleep disorder. Such studies have shown reduced sleep efficiency, a reduction of deep sleep, prolonged sleep initiation, and alpha-wave intrusion during deep sleep. Deregulation of the 2-5A synthetase/RNase L antiviral pathway and a potential acquired channelopathy are also found in a subset of CFS patients and could lead to sleep disturbances...

The use of sustained release tri-iodothyronine (SR-T3) in clinical practice, has gained popularity in the complementary and alternative medical community in the treatment of chronic fatigue with a protocol (WT3) pioneered by Dr. Denis Wilson. The WT3 protocol involves the use of SR-T3 taken orally by the patient every 12 hours according to a cyclic dose schedule determined by patient response. The patient is then weaned once a body temperature of 98.6 degrees F has been maintained for 3 consecutive weeks. The symptoms associated with this protocol have been given the name Wilson's Temperature Syndrome (WTS)...

This study examined sleep patterns in female adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Twenty-six participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain completed questionnaires during their clinic visit, and three 24-Hour Sleep Patterns Interviews during the following 2 weeks. Compared to normative data (Acebo & Carskadon, 2002), adolescents with chronic pain reported similar total sleep time (TST) and bedtimes. However, study participants reported significantly longer sleep onset latency, more night wakings, a later morning wake time, and more symptoms of daytime sleepiness...

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to compare the factor structure and to assess the reliability of the Hungarian version of the Illness Intrusiveness Rating Scale (IIRS), testing internal validity and employing simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis (SCFA) in two large samples of North American versus Hungarian patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). METHODS: Translation was conducted according to current recommendations. Following pilot testing, 365 maintenance haemodialysis patients completed the scale...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Experimental sleep fragmentation involves inducing arousals by administering intrusive auditory stimuli throughout the night. It is intended to model the frequent and periodic disruption experienced in common sleep disorders. Sleep fragmentation leads to daytime sleepiness, although evidence of performance impairment has been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to investigate brain physiology associated with this level of sleep disruption. Specifically, quantitative analysis of electroencephalography was carried out, and auditory event-related potentials were recorded during daytime performance assessment following sleep fragmentation in good sleepers...

OBJECTIVE: Fibromyalgia (FM) is associated with the sleep phenomenon of alpha intrusion, and with low growth hormone secretion. Sodium oxybate has been shown to increase both slow-wave sleep and growth hormone levels. This double blind, randomized, placebo controlled crossover trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of sodium oxybate on the subjective symptoms of pain, fatigue, and sleep quality and the objective polysomnographic (PSG) sleep variables of alpha intrusion, slow-wave (stage 3/4) sleep, and sleep efficiency in patients with FM...

The separate contribution of circadian rhythmicity and elapsed time awake on electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during wakefulness was assessed. Seven men lived in an environmental scheduling facility for 4 weeks and completed fourteen 42.85-h 'days', each consisting of an extended (28.57-h) wake episode and a 14.28-h sleep opportunity. The circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin desynchronized from the 42.85-h day. This allowed quantification of the separate contribution of circadian phase and elapsed time awake to variation in EEG power spectra (1-32 Hz)...

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a common chronic pain syndrome that is often associated with sleep disturbances characterized by subjective experience of non-restorative sleep. The complaints of sleep disturbances are correlated with polysomnographic features showing clear abnormalities in the continuity of sleep as well as in the sleep architecture. Sleep-recording abnormalities are characterized by a reduced sleep efficiency with increased number of awakenings, a reduced amount of slow wave sleep and an abnormal alpha wave intrusion in non rapid eye movement, termed alpha-delta sleep...

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the patterns of alpha electroencephalographic sleep and their associations with pain and sleep in patients with fibromyalgia. METHODS: Pain and sleep symptoms of 40 female patients with fibromyalgia and 43 healthy control subjects were studied before and after overnight polysomnography. Blinded analyses of alpha activity in non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep were performed using time domain, frequency domain, and visual analysis techniques...

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have not evaluated the clinical correlates of the electroencephalographic spectral profile in patients with insomnia. In the preliminary study described here, we evaluated the extent to which symptoms of stress and depression are associated with subjective sleep complaints and quantitative measures of sleep in individuals with chronic insomnia. METHODS: Subjects were 14 healthy adults who met criteria for primary insomnia as specified in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders...

Alpha activity occurring during sleep is generally considered to reflect arousal processes and a shift toward wakefulness. This long-standing interpretation is based on physiological and behavioural arousal correlates of alpha activity presumed to have an occipital focus. In addition to the application of this interpretation to sleep/wake state determinations, there have been reports of nonrefreshing or nonrestorative sleep in clinical populations exhibiting dramatic amounts of alpha intrusion during sleep in the absence of awakening...