Abstract
Sleep spindles are waxing and waning thalamocortical oscillations with accepted frequencies of between 11 and 16 Hz and a minimum duration of 0.5 s. Our research has suggested that there is spindle activity in all of the sleep stages, and thus for the present analysis we examined the link between spindle activity (Stage 2, rapid eye movement (REM) and slow wave sleep (SWS)) and waking cognitive abilities in 32 healthy adolescents. After software was used to filter frequencies outside the desired range, slow spindles (11.00–13.50 Hz), fast spindles (13.51–16.00 Hz) and spindle-like activity (16.01–18.50 Hz) were observed in Stage 2, SWS and REM sleep. Our analysis suggests that these specific EEG frequencies were significantly related to processing speed, which is one of the subscales of the intelligence score, in adolescents. The relationship was prominent in SWS and REM sleep. Further, the spindle-like activity (16.01–18.50 Hz) that occurred during SWS was strongly related to processing speed. Results suggest that the ability of adolescents to respond to tasks in an accurate, efficient and timely manner is related to their sleep quality. These findings support earlier research reporting relationships between learning, learning potential and sleep spindle activity in adults and adolescents.
Highlights
Sleep spindles are an often used hallmark of Stage 2 sleep; these waxing and waning oscillations are commonly observed with frequencies of between 11 and 16 Hz and have durations of between 0.5 and 3 s (Zeitlhofer et al, 1997; DeGennaro and Ferrara, 2003; Schabus et al, 2007; Peters et al, 2008)
Despite substantial variability, a significant number of our adolescents showed spindle activity during rapid eye movement (REM)
The number of individuals showing more than 30 spindles during REM sleep was substantial, with eight individuals (25%) displaying more than 30 slow spindles and six individuals (19%) showing more than 30 fast spindles during REM sleep
Summary
Sleep spindles are an often used hallmark of Stage 2 sleep; these waxing and waning oscillations are commonly observed with frequencies of between 11 and 16 Hz and have durations of between 0.5 and 3 s (Zeitlhofer et al, 1997; DeGennaro and Ferrara, 2003; Schabus et al, 2007; Peters et al, 2008) This frequency range has been further divided by researchers into slow spindles (often between 11 and 13.5 Hz) and fast spindles (often between 13.6 and 16 Hz; Fogel and Smith, 2011). Using automatic spindle detectors, which can filter out undesired frequencies, researchers can more observe the spindle
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