Changes in cerebral hemodynamics during a sleep-deprived video-electroencephalogram in healthy children.

This study investigates the cerebral hemodynamic changes during a routine sleep-deprived video-electroencephalogram (SD-VEEG) in healthy children. Forty-two children with normal intelligence were examined. The children were 5-14 years of age, and their electroencephalograms (EEGs) were within the normal range. Each subject was deprived of a routine night's sleep and then examined during non-drug-induced sleep in the daytime. The awake and sleep stages were evaluated using EEGs, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Stable transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) tracings through real-time TCD-VEEG monitoring were recorded. The mean systolic cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV), diastolic CBFV, pulsatility index and resistance index of each artery were analyzed for 30 s per stage. A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to compare the hemodynamic parameters for the awake stage versus light sleep and deep sleep stages. Non-rapid eye movement sleep was associated with an increased CBFV in the middle (164.38  ±  27.28) and anterior cerebral artery (131.81  ±  21.55) during light sleep (stages N1 and N2) (P  =  0.0001), a reduced systolic CBFV in all vascular arteries (LMCA, 138.73  ±  20.64; LACA, 108.33  ±  22.33; LPCA, 83.9  ±  18.6) during deep sleep (stage N3) compared with light sleep (P  =  0.0001), and a sustained increased PI (LMCA, 0.92  ±  0.13; LACA, 0.964  ±  0.18) during deep sleep (P  <  0.05). These findings indicate distinct cerebral hemodynamic alterations during SD-VEEG in children. This study utilized real-time TCD-VEEG monitoring during SD-EEG to further investigate neurovascular coupling in interictal epileptic discharges and understand its potential influence on cognition in the developing brain.