Phasic Events and Dynamic Organization of Sleep Terzano, Mario Giovanni; Halasz, Peter et Declerck, Auguste Charles

This volume examines the role of EEG phasic events such as K-complexes, sequences of reactive slow waves and microarousals in the physiological organization of sleep and discusses their significance in insomnia, sleep apneas, epilepsy and other disorders. The contributors show how an understanding of phasic events has shed new light on the mechanisms underlying sleep alteration and can aid in the clinical assessment of insomnia and other sleep-related disorders. Included are analyses of the spectral features of evoked microarousals, the functional relationship between microstructure and macrostructure of sleep, the characteristics of transient activation phases in sleep, and the influence of environmental factors on transient activation phases. Attention is given to the relation of K-complexes to spontaneous slow wave activity during sleep, the K-complex variability in normal subjects and the link between K-complexes and spike-and-wave mechanisms in epilepsy, as well as to the role of phasic events in nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia, narcolepsy and sleep apneas. Other studies examine levels of EEG background activity and sleep states during the first year of life and relate phasic events to apneas, oxygenation, sighs and body movements during sleep in newborns and children.