Topography of Slow Sigma Power during Sleep is Associated with Processing Speed in Preschool Children

Brain Sciences

Margaret R. Doucette²  Salome Kurth²  Nicolas Chevalier¹  Yuko Munakata³  Monique K. LeBourgeois² 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK; E-Mail:;Sleep and Development Laboratory, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; E-Mails:;Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: early childhood;    preschool children;    sleep spindles;    sigma power;    high density EEG;    processing speed;    cognition;   

DOI  :  10.3390/brainsci5040494

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Cognitive development is influenced by maturational changes in processing speed, a construct reflecting the rapidity of executing cognitive operations. Although cognitive ability and processing speed are linked to spindles and sigma power in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), little is known about such associations in early childhood, a time of major neuronal refinement. We calculated EEG power for slow (10–13 Hz) and fast (13.25–17 Hz) sigma power from all-night high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in a cross-sectional sample of healthy preschool children (n = 10, 4.3 ± 1.0 years). Processing speed was assessed as simple reaction time. On average, reaction time was 1409 ± 251 ms; slow sigma power was 4.0 ± 1.5 μV²; and fast sigma power was 0.9 ± 0.2 μV². Both slow and fast sigma power predominated over central areas. Only slow sigma power was correlated with processing speed in a large parietal electrode cluster (p < 0.05, r ranging from −0.6 to −0.8), such that greater power predicted faster reaction time. Our findings indicate regional correlates between sigma power and processing speed that are specific to early childhood and provide novel insights into the neurobiological features of the EEG that may underlie developing cognitive abilities.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.