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. 2011 Jan 1;34(1):83-91.
doi: 10.1093/sleep/34.1.83.

Adolescent changes in homeostatic regulation of EEG activity in the delta and theta frequency bands during NREM sleep

Ian G Campbell  1 , Nato Darchia, Lisa M Higgins, Igor V Dykan, Nicole M Davis, Evan de Bie, Irwin Feinberg
Affiliations

Adolescent changes in homeostatic regulation of EEG activity in the delta and theta frequency bands during NREM sleep

Ian G Campbell et al. Sleep. .

Abstract

Study objectives: Slow wave EEG activity in NREM sleep decreases by more than 60% between ages 10 and 20 years. Slow wave EEG activity also declines across NREM periods (NREMPs) within a night, and this decline is thought to represent the dynamics of sleep homeostasis. We used longitudinal data to determine whether these homeostatic dynamics change across adolescence.

Design: All-night sleep EEG was recorded semiannually for 6 years.

Setting: EEG was recorded with ambulatory recorders in the subjects' homes.

Participants: Sixty-seven subjects in 2 cohorts, one starting at age 9 and one starting at age 12 years.

Measurements and results: For NREM delta (1-4 Hz) and theta (4-8 Hz) EEG, we tested whether the proportion of spectral energy contained in the first NREMP changes with age. We also tested for age changes in the parameters of the process S exponential decline. For both delta and theta, the proportion of energy in the first NREMP declined significantly across ages 9 to 18 years. Process S parameters SWA(0) and TWA(0), respectively, represent slow wave (delta) activity and theta wave activity at the beginning of the night. SWA(0) and TWA(0) declined significantly (P < 0.0001) across ages 9 to 18.

Conclusions: These declines indicate that the intensity of the homeostatic or restorative processes at the beginning of sleep diminished across adolescence. We propose that this change in sleep regulation is caused by the synaptic pruning that occurs during adolescent brain maturation.

Keywords: Development; FFT; longitudinal; maturation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age related decline in all night (cycles 1-5) average NREM delta (1-4 Hz) power and theta (4-8 Hz) power. Mean (± SE) power at each semiannual recording is plotted against mean age for both the C9 (circles, solid lines) and C12 (triangles, dashed lines) cohorts. Both delta (A) and theta (B) power declined massively and significantly.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Age-related decline in NREMP1 energy as a percent of total energy in NREMPs 1-5. Format is similar to Figure 1. A. Percent delta energy in NREMP1 declined across adolescence. B. Percent theta energy in NREMP1 also declined across adolescence. Cohort differences were not significant.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean (± SE) standardized power in each NREMP is plotted against time from sleep onset for the 1st recording from the C9 cohort (mean age 9.3 years; circles, solid lines) and 12th recording from the C12 cohort (mean age 17.9 years; triangles, dashed lines). Data at each NREMP are standardized as a percent of average power in NREMPs 1-5. Data are plotted at the average NREMP midpoint. Lines are exponential curves fit by nonlinear mixed-effect analysis. For delta power (A), the across-NREMP power decline began at lower starting point in the older subjects. This age-related change is even more pronounced for the across-NREMP theta power decline (B).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Nonlinear mixed-effect analysis estimates (± SE) of SWA0 (A) and TWA0 (B) for C9 (circles, solid lines) and C12 (triangles, dashed lines). Both process S parameters show a general decrease with age, but the effect is variable. Differences between the C9 and C12 cohorts in the 3 year period when the cohorts overlap are not statistically significant but further demonstrate the variability.
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