SLUCare Sleep Disorders Center, 3545 Lafayette Avenue, St Louis, MO 63104, USA.
Clin Geriatr Med. 2010 Feb;26(1):45-56. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2009.11.001.
Sleep plays an important role in learning, memory encoding, and cognition. Insufficient quantity or quality of sleep leads not only to short-term neurocognitive dysfunction but also to permanent changes to the central nervous system. Sleep disorders are common in the geriatric population. The hypoxemia and sleep fragmentation resulting from obstructive sleep apnea are the most likely pathophysiology responsible for damage to the brain. Because treatment of these sleep disorders can lead to improved cognitive function, it is becoming increasingly important for physicians to be able to correctly recognize and treat these disorders in patients presenting with memory or cognitive complaints.
睡眠在学习、记忆编码和认知中起着重要作用。睡眠不足或质量差不仅会导致短期神经认知功能障碍，还会导致中枢神经系统的永久性改变。睡眠障碍在老年人群中很常见。阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停导致的低氧血症和睡眠片段化是导致大脑损伤最可能的病理生理学机制。由于治疗这些睡眠障碍可以改善认知功能，因此医生能够正确识别和治疗有记忆或认知问题的患者的这些障碍变得越来越重要。
