Altered Sleep Mechanisms following Traumatic Brain Injury and Relation to Waking Function

Sleep difficulties are commonly reported following traumatic brain injury (TBI), but few studies have systematically examined the neurophysiological characteristics of sleep. Sleep EEG was quantified over multiple nights to examine mechanisms underlying sleep disruption in individuals who had sustained a TBI and to explore the relationship between sleep disruption and waking function. Sleep was recorded from 20 individuals with a TBI (18-64 years) and 20 age-matched controls over two uninterrupted nights, as well as during a night where auditory stimuli were delivered. All participants underwent neuropsychological testing and waking performance assessment. Compared to controls, the TBI group had subjective complaints of falling asleep, delayed sleep onset on polysomnography (PSG), less Slow Wave (< 1 Hz) and delta (1-4 Hz) EEG power in non-REM sleep, fewer spontaneous and evoked k-complexes, reduced periodicity of spontaneous k-complexes, and lower amplitude of evoked k-complexes. While for controls, the density, duration and periodicity of sleep spindles diminished with deepening of non-REM as typically observed, this pattern was disrupted in the TBI group with peak spindle presentation occurring in Stage 3 sleep. Night-to-night-stability of Stage 2 spindles was high for controls but absent for the TBI group. Greater injury severity was related to fewer evoked k-complexes and lower spindle density. Greater spindle production predicted better waking function in the TBI group. Taken together, these data demonstrate impairment in sleep regulatory and inhibitory mechanisms as factors underlying sleep complaints following a TBI. Spindle generation may be adaptive or a marker of resiliency following TBI

Who is the Most Demanding of Them All? A Multisource Investigation of Other-Oriented Perfectionism, Socially Prescribed Perfectionism, and Depressive Symptoms

People high on socially prescribed perfectionism perceive intense external pressures to be perfect, and these pressures place them at risk for depressive symptoms. Likewise, the external pressures experienced by people high on socially prescribed perfectionism appear, in part, to be a legitimate response to members of their social network (influencers) who demand perfection from others (other-oriented perfectionists). Nonetheless, it is unclear whose other-oriented perfectionism (e.g., parents or peers) is more relevant to the socially prescribed perfectionism-depressive symptoms relationship. To address this, we studied 307 undergraduate targets and 692 influencers (mothers, fathers, siblings, peers, and romantic partners). Targets completed measures of socially prescribed perfectionism and depressive symptoms. Influencers completed measures of other-oriented perfectionism and narcissism. Path analysis revealed other-oriented perfectionism in mothers and siblings, but not other-oriented perfectionism in fathers, peers, or romantic partners, indirectly predicted targets’ depressive symptoms through targets’ socially prescribed perfectionism. Conversely, indirect effects corresponding to influencers’ narcissism were not significant. Investigators are encouraged to continue using multisource designs to test how other-oriented perfectionism in parental and non-parental influencers depresses the recipients of their perfectionistic demands. Keywords: perfectionism,depression, multisource, social network, mother, siblin

Even a mild sleep restriction can impact daytime functioning in children with ADHD and their typically developing peers

Objectives/Background: Correlational studies show that short sleep is associated with negative daytime outcomes in school-aged children, but there are few experimental sleep manipulation studies to assess whether this is a causal relation. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of mild, cumulative sleep restriction on daytime functioning of typically developing (TD) children and children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants: A total of 36 school-aged children (n = 18 TD; n = 18 ADHD), aged 6–11 years participated. Methods: Children participated in two sleep conditions (order counter-balanced). The Restricted condition required a 1 h reduction of time in bed for one week, and the Controlled Typical condition was based on participant’s average baseline sleep. At the end of each condition, participants attended the sleep lab for overnight polysomnography and daytime functioning assessments. Results: Children successfully reduced time in bed by ~1 h. Due to compensatory changes, total sleep time (TST) was reduced by only ~20 min, as children fell asleep faster and spent less time awake after sleep onset during the Restricted compared to Controlled Typical condition. Many daytime functions were not affected by this very mild sleep restriction, however, both groups showed significant changes in performance on an objective attention task and on a parent-rated emotional lability measure after six nights of minimal reductions in TST. There were no significant differences between groups. Conclusions: Results suggest that a very mild sleep restriction can affect children’s attention and emotional regulation, even with evidence of compensatory sleep mechanisms