Shared local brain dynamics in pediatric and adult non-rapid eye movement parasomnias.

Overview

1. Institute of Computational Life Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Wädenswil, 8820, Switzerland
2. Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, 16132, Italy
3. Sleep Medicine, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Ospedale Civico, Lugano, 6900, Switzerland
4. Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, 16147, Italy
5. Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, University of Italian Switzerland, Lugano, 6900, Switzerland
6. Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Inselspital, Bern, 3010, Switzerland
7. University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, 3000, Switzerland

Abstract

Study Objectives: To characterize source-level cortical oscillatory dynamics before and during disorders of arousal (DoA) compared with physiological motor arousals in children and adults.

Materials and Methods: Nineteen children (10.9 ± 3.0 years) and 22 adults (30.3 ± 5.2 years) with DoA underwent 256-channel high-density EEG with video-polysomnography. Source-space spectral analysis in delta (0.5–4 Hz) and beta (18–30 Hz) bands was computed during stable slow-wave-sleep (-3 to -2 minutes before movement onset) and from -5 seconds to +15 seconds around movement onset for 84 DoA episodes and 146 physiological motor arousals. Linear mixed-effects models with permutation-based cluster correction were applied.

Results: Four reproducible cortical hallmarks emerged across age groups: (1) a widespread pre-onset increase in beta and delta relative to slow-wave-sleep; (2) sustained frontal delta enhancement over anterior cingulate, dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal, frontopolar, and orbitofrontal cortices; (3) concurrent centro-parietal delta suppression spanning posterior cingulate, precuneus, superior parietal, sensorimotor, and supplementary motor regions; and (4) persistent bilateral beta enhancement. Compared with physiological arousals, DoA arose from a “sleepier” background (higher delta, lower beta) and displayed greater beta coexisting with frontal delta persistence. Children showed broader pre-onset delta effects and more diffuse post-onset persistence, whereas adults exhibited a more anteriorly confined pattern.

Conclusion: DoA display a reproducible, age-invariant cortical signature, consistent with a spatially organized failure of arousal integration: posterior sensorimotor and awareness circuits partially reactivate, while anterior executive and emotion-regulatory regions remain sleep-like. These spatiotemporal fingerprints position hd-EEG source analysis as a translational tool for mechanistically informed diagnostic and therapeutic development.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Data

No dataset and no data link were found in the paper.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Additional videos can be accessed upon direct request to the corresponding author, in accordance with patient consent.

Templates of the custom-made codes in Matlab are available at https://github.com/julama/hdEEG_DOA.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 10 authors, 7 keywords, 12 MeSH terms, 49 references.

Cite

This paper

Amacker, J., Veneruso, M., Pereno, M., Ulzega, S., Wehrli, S., Hirsch, S., Nobili, L., Miano, S., Manconi, M., & Castelnovo, A. (2026). Shared local brain dynamics in pediatric and adult non-rapid eye movement parasomnias. Sleep, 49(7), zsag123. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsag123

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