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Abstract:
Objectives: Sleep-wake disturbances occur frequently after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Therefore, we aimed at studying the dynamic features of sleep after severe TBI in a rat model of traumatic brain injury.
Methods: We obtained 24 h encephalographic recordings at different time points after TBI and analyzed the signal using a novel frequency based EEG analysis technique (state space analysis). In this quantitative sleep analysis approach, velocity in state space represents behavioral state instability.
Results: We found a significantly higher mean velocity of slow wave sleep 7 days after TBI as compared to the control group (p=0.04, 2-sided t-test). This transient effect was no longer seen after 28 days and was not observed in the control group.
Conclusions: The observed short-lasting elevation of state space velocity can be interpreted as a transient sleep state instability after TBI. These results shed a new light into the dynamics of pathological changes of sleep architecture after TBI that are not identified by conventional scoring and analysis techniques.
