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Abstract

Objective:

Slow waves and sleep spindles are the two main oscillations occurring during non-REM sleep. While slow oscillations are primarily generated and modulated by the cortex, sleep spindles are initiated by the thalamic reticular nucleus and regulated by thalamo-reticular and thalamo-cortical circuits. In a recent high-density EEG study, the authors found that 18 medicated schizophrenia patients had reduced sleep spindles, compared with healthy and depressed subjects, during the first non-REM episode. In the present study, the authors investigated whether spindle deficits were present in a larger sample of schizophrenia patients, were consistent across the night, were related to antipsychotic medications, and were suggestive of impairments in specific neuronal circuits.

Method:

Whole-night high-density EEG recordings were performed in 49 schizophrenia patients, 20 nonschizophrenia patients receiving antipsychotic medication, and 44 healthy subjects. In addition to sleep spindles, several parameters of slow waves were assessed.

Results:

Schizophrenia patients had whole-night deficits in spindle power (12–16 Hz) and in slow (12–14 Hz) and fast (14–16 Hz) spindle amplitude, duration, number, and integrated activity in the prefrontal, centroparietal, and temporal regions. Integrated spindle activity and spindle number had the largest effect sizes (effect size: ≥2.21). In contrast, no slow wave deficits were found in schizophrenia patients.

Conclusions:

These results indicate that spindle deficits can be reliably established in schizophrenia, are stable across the night, are unlikely to be due to antipsychotic medications, and point to deficits in the thalamic reticular nucleus and thalamo-reticular circuits.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
American Journal of Psychiatry
Pages: 1339 - 1348
PubMed: 20843876

History

Received: 7 December 2009
Revision received: 15 February 2010
Accepted: 8 April 2010
Published online: 1 November 2010
Published in print: November 2010

Authors

Details

Fabio Ferrarelli, M.D., Ph.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Michael J. Peterson, M.D., Ph.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Simone Sarasso, Ph.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Brady A. Riedner, B.A.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Michael J. Murphy, Ph.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Ruth M. Benca, M.D., Ph.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Pietro Bria, M.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Ned H. Kalin, M.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.
Giulio Tononi, M.D., Ph.D.
From the School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.; the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and the Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Largo F. Vito, Rome.

Notes

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Peterson, University of Wisconsin, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, WI 53719; [email protected] (e-mail).

Funding Information

Supported by the schizophrenia program of the HealthEmotions Research Institute; a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health Conte Center grant, 1P20MH-077967-01A1 (Dr. Tononi); and a European Union Marie Curie International Reintegration grant, FP7-PEOPLE-2007-5-4-3-IRG-No208779 (Dr. Ferrarelli).

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