title: The role of NREM sleep instability in child cognitive performance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Based on recent reports of the involvement of cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) in cognitive functioning in adults, we investigated the association between CAP parameters and cognitive performance in healthy children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Polysomnographic assessment and standardized neurocognitive testing in healthy children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sleep laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-two children aged 7.6 ± 2.7 years, with an even distribution of body mass percentile (58.5 ± 25.5) and SES reflective of national norms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of sleep macrostructure following the R&K criteria and of cyclic alternating pattern (CAP). The neurocognitive tests were the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale (5(th) edition) and a Neuropsychological Developmental Assessment (NEPSY) RESULTS: Fluid reasoning ability was positively associated with CAP rate, particularly during SWS and with A1 total index and A1 index in SWS. Regression analysis, controlling for age and SES, showed that CAP rate in SWS and A1 index in SWS were significant predictors of nonverbal fluid reasoning, explaining 24% and 22% of the variance in test scores, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that CAP analysis provides important insights on the role of EEG slow oscillations (CAP A1) in cognitive performance. Children with higher cognitive efficiency showed an increase of phase A1 in total sleep and in SWS.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Paediatric Sleep Disorders, Department of Developmental Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. oliviero.bruni@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Oliviero
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bruni
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohler
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Novelli
authors.forename: Declan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lushington
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferri
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017286:Polysomnography; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology*