Ventura Soraia, Mathieson Sean R, O'Toole John M, Livingstone Vicki, Murray Deirdre M, Boylan Geraldine B
INFANT Research Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Pediatr Res. 2025 Feb 20. doi: 10.1038/s41390-025-03893-6.
Sleep parameters evolve in parallel with neurodevelopment. Sleep participates in synaptic homeostasis and memory consolidation and infant sleep parameters correlate with later aspects of early childhood cognition.
Typically developing, term-born infants had a diurnal sleep-EEG at 4 months and Griffiths III developmental assessment at 18 months. EEG analysis included sleep macrostructure (i.e. durations of total sleep and sleep stages, and latencies to sleep and REM), sleep spindle features, and quantitative EEG features (qEEG): interhemispheric connectivity and spectral power. We assessed the correlations between these EEG features and Griffiths III quotients.
Sleep recordings from 92 infants were analyzed. Sleep latency was positively associated with the Griffiths III Foundations of Learning subscale and N3 sleep duration was positively correlated with the Personal-Social-Emotional subscale. Sleep spindle synchrony was negatively associated with Eye and Hand Coordination, Personal-Social-Emotional, Gross Motor, and General Development quotients. Sleep spindle duration was negatively associated with the Personal-Social-Emotional and Gross Motor subscales. In some sleep states, delta 1 and 2 EEG spectral power and interhemispheric coherence measures were correlated with subscale quotients.
Certain sleep features in the EEG of 4-month-old infants are associated with neurodevelopment at 18 months and may be useful early biomarkers of neurodevelopment.
This study shows that the EEG during infant sleep may provide insights into later neurodevelopmental outcomes. We have examined novel EEG sleep spindle features and shown that spindle duration and synchrony may help predict neurodevelopmental outcomes. Sleep macrostructure elements such as latency to sleep, N3 duration, and qEEG features such as interhemispheric coherence and spectral power measures at 4 months may be useful for the assessment of future neurodevelopmental outcomes. Due to exceptional neuroplasticity in infancy, EEG biomarkers of neurodevelopment may support early and targeted intervention to optimize outcomes.
睡眠参数与神经发育同步演变。睡眠参与突触稳态和记忆巩固，婴儿睡眠参数与幼儿期认知的后期方面相关。
足月出生的正常发育婴儿在4个月时进行日间睡眠脑电图检查，并在18个月时进行格里菲斯III发育评估。脑电图分析包括睡眠宏观结构（即总睡眠时间和睡眠阶段的持续时间，以及入睡潜伏期和快速眼动潜伏期）、睡眠纺锤波特征和定量脑电图特征（qEEG）：半球间连接性和频谱功率。我们评估了这些脑电图特征与格里菲斯III商数之间的相关性。
分析了92名婴儿的睡眠记录。入睡潜伏期与格里菲斯III学习基础分量表呈正相关，N3睡眠时间与个人-社会-情感分量表呈正相关。睡眠纺锤波同步性与眼手协调、个人-社会-情感、大运动和总体发育商数呈负相关。睡眠纺锤波持续时间与个人-社会-情感和大运动分量表呈负相关。在某些睡眠状态下，δ1和δ2脑电图频谱功率以及半球间相干性测量与分量表商数相关。
4个月大婴儿脑电图中的某些睡眠特征与18个月时的神经发育相关，可能是有用的早期神经发育生物标志物。
这项研究表明，婴儿睡眠期间的脑电图可能有助于了解后期神经发育结果。我们研究了新的脑电图睡眠纺锤波特征，表明纺锤波持续时间和同步性可能有助于预测神经发育结果。4个月时的睡眠宏观结构要素，如入睡潜伏期、N3持续时间，以及qEEG特征，如半球间相干性和频谱功率测量，可能有助于评估未来的神经发育结果。由于婴儿期具有特殊的神经可塑性，神经发育的脑电图生物标志物可能支持早期和有针对性的干预，以优化结果。
