SLEEP 2011 Abstract Supplement

B. Clinical Sleep Science III. Sleep Disorders – Insomnia
0491
EEG POWER DURING WAKING AND NREM SLEEP IN
PRIMARY INSOMNIACS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS
Wu Y 1 , Pietrone RN 2 , Cashmere D 2 , Germain A 2 , Miewald J 3 , Begley A 3 ,
Buysse DJ 1
1
School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,
2
Neuroscience Clinical and Translational Research Center and Sleep
Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,
3
Department of Statistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,
USA
Introduction: The hyperarousal theory of insomnia is supported by increased
activation of the neuroendocrine and neuroimmunological axes,
as well as increased high frequency EEG activity during NREM sleep.
Because increased arousal in primary insomnia (PI) is thought to be a
24-hour phenomenon, it is possible that the waking EEG of PI would
also show evidence of hyperarousal. The aim of this study was to compare
EEG power during the waking EEG in PI and good sleeper controls
(GSC), and to examine associations between waking and NREM sleep
EEG power in PI.
Methods: Subjects include 59 PI and 26 GSC similar in age and sex distribution.
Five minutes of eyes closed waking EEG were collected 60-90
min prior to usual bedtime in the evening, followed by PSG at habitual
sleep times. An automated algorithm and visual editing were used to remove
artifacts from waking and sleep EEGs, followed by power spectral
analysis to estimate power from 0.5 - 32 Hz. Subjects also completed
self-reports including Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and sleep diary.
Results: Waking EEG power was significantly higher in PI than GSC in
theta (4Hz-8Hz; p=0.045) and low beta (16Hz-20Hz; p=.044) frequencies.
Power in these two bands was significantly correlated (whole group
r=0.70,n=86, p