Effects of oral temazepam on slow waves during non-rapid eye movement sleep in healthy young adults: A high-density EEG investigation

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Slow waves are characteristic waveforms that occur during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep that play an integral role in sleep quality and brain plasticity. Benzodiazepines are commonly used medications that alter slow waves, however, their effects may depend on the time of night and measure used to characterize slow waves. Prior investigations have utilized minimal scalp derivations to evaluate the effects of benzodiazepines on slow waves, and thus the topography of changes to slow waves induced by benzodiazepines has yet to be fully elucidated. This study used high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) to evaluate the effects of oral temazepam on slow wave activity, incidence, and morphology during NREM sleep in 18 healthy adults relative to placebo. Temazepam was associated with significant decreases in slow wave activity and incidence, which were most prominent in the latter portions of the sleep period. However, temazepam was also associated with a decrease in the magnitude of high-amplitude slow waves and their slopes in the first NREM sleep episode, which was most prominent in frontal derivations. These findings suggest that benzodiazepines produce changes in slow waves throughout the night that vary depending on cortical topography and measures used to characterize slow waves. Further research that explores the relationships between benzodiazepine-induced changes to slow waves and the functional effects of these waveforms is indicated.