- 作者：Angelo Gemignani ; Marco Laurino ; Federica Provini ; Andrea Piarulli ; Giorgio Barletta ; Paola d¡¯Ascanio ; Remo Bedini ; Raffaele Lodi ; David Neil Manners ; Paolo Allegrini ; Danilo Menicucci ; Pietro Cortelli
- 关键词：Sleep Slow Oscillation ; NREM sleep ; Spindles ; Thalamus ; Fatal Familial Insomnia ; Humans
- 刊名：Sleep Medicine
- 出版年：2012
- 出版时间：August, 2012
- 年：2012
- 卷：13
- 期：7
- 页码：946-952
- 全文大小：663 K
Objective
Studying the thalamic role in the cortical expression of the Sleep Slow Oscillation (SSO) in humans by comparing SSO features in a case of Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) and a group of controls.Methods
We characterize SSOs in a 51-year-old male with FFI carrying the D178N mutation and the methionine/methionine homozygosity at the polymorphic 129 codon of the PRNP gene and in eight gender and age-matched healthy controls. Polysomnographic (21 EEG electrodes, two consecutive nights) and volumetric- (Diffusion tensor imaging Magnetic Resonance Imaging DTI MRI) evaluations were carried out for the patient in the middle course of the disease (five months after the onset of insomnia; disease duration: 10 months).
We measured a set of features describing each SSO event: the wave shape, the event-origin location, the number and the location of all waves belonging to the event, and the grouping of spindle activity as a function of the SSO phase.
Results
We found that the FFI individual showed a marked reduction of SSO event rate and wave morphological alterations as well as a significant reduction in grouping spindle activity, especially in frontal areas. These alterations paralleled DTI changes in the thalamus and the cingulate cortex.
Conclusions
This work gives a quantitative picture of spontaneous SSO activity during the NREM sleep of a FFI individual. The results suggest that a thalamic neurodegeneration specifically alters the cortical expression of the SSO. This characterization also provides indications about cortico-thalamic interplays in SSO activity in humans.