Quantitative Electroencephalogram Measures in Adult Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Potential Biomarkers of Neurobehavioural Functioning

• Published in: Sleep medicine reviews Vol. 36; pp. 29 - 42
• Main Authors: D’Rozario, Angela L, Cross, Nathan E, Vakulin, Andrew, Bartlett, Delwyn J, Wong, Keith K.H, Wang, David, Grunstein, Ronald R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-12-2017
• Subjects: Adult; Biomarkers; Cognition; Cognitive Dysfunction; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - diagnosis; Electroencephalography - methods; Humans; Neurology; Power spectral analysis; Quantitative EEG analysis; Signal processing; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - therapy; Sleep disordered breathing; Sleep Medicine; Sleep Stages; AHI; signal processing; MSLT; PFC; Randomized control trial; Arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation; DS; PVT; Quantitative electroencephalography; ODI; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PSA; Quantitative EEG analysis; qEEG; Multiple sleep latency test; EEG; Karolinska sleepiness scale; Apnea hypopnoea index; Oxygen desaturation index; Non-rapid eye movement; RCT; CPAP; ABG; NREM; Obstructive sleep apnea; SaO 2; Slow wave sleep; Maintenance of wakefulness test; Detrended fluctuation analysis; OSA; SWA; Electroencephalogram/electroencephalography; cognition; Arterial blood gas; ESS; Continuous positive airway pressure; KSS; MWT; Prefrontal cortex; power spectral analysis; SWS; Rapid eye movement; performance; sleep disordered breathing; Slow wave activity; REM; DFA; Psychomotor vigilance task; COPD; Deep sleep percentage; Epworth sleepiness scale; Power spectral analysis; Signal processing; Cognition; Performance; Sleep disordered breathing
• ISSN: 1087-0792; 1532-2955
• DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2016.10.003

Summary Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) results in significantly impaired cognitive functioning and increased daytime sleepiness in some patients leading to increased risk of motor vehicle and workplace accidents and reduced productivity. Clinicians often face difficulty in identifying which patients are at risk of neurobehavioural dysfunction due to wide inter-individual variability, and disparity between symptoms and conventional metrics of disease severity such as the apnea hypopnea index. Quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) measures are determinants of awake neurobehavioural function in healthy subjects. However, the potential value of quantitative EEG (qEEG) measurements as biomarkers of neurobehavioural function in patients with OSA has not been examined. This review summarises the existing literature examining qEEG in OSA patients including changes in brain activity during wake and sleep states, in relation to daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment and OSA treatment. It will speculate on the mechanisms which may underlie changes in EEG activity and discuss the potential utility of qEEG as a clinically useful predictor of neurobehavioural function in OSA.