Blindness affects the developmental trajectory of the sleeping brain
Helene Vitali,
Claudio Campus,
Sabrina Signorini,
Valentina De Giorgis,
Federica Morelli,
Costanza Varesio,
Ludovica Pasca,
Alessia Sammartano,
Monica Gori
Affiliations
Helene Vitali
Unit for Visually Impaired People, Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen 83, Building B, Genoa 16152, Italy; DIBRIS, University of Genova, Genoa 16145, Italy
Claudio Campus
Unit for Visually Impaired People, Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen 83, Building B, Genoa 16152, Italy
Sabrina Signorini
Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy
Valentina De Giorgis
Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy; Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy; Member of European Reference Network for Rare and Complex Epilepsies, EpiCARE, Italy
Federica Morelli
Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy; Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
Costanza Varesio
Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy; Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy; Member of European Reference Network for Rare and Complex Epilepsies, EpiCARE, Italy
Ludovica Pasca
Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy; Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy; Member of European Reference Network for Rare and Complex Epilepsies, EpiCARE, Italy
Alessia Sammartano
Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy; Member of European Reference Network for Rare and Complex Epilepsies, EpiCARE, Italy
Monica Gori
Unit for Visually Impaired People, Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen 83, Building B, Genoa 16152, Italy; Corresponding author.
Sleep plays a crucial role in brain development, sensory information processing, and consolidation. Sleep spindles are markers of these mechanisms as they mirror the activity of the thalamocortical circuits. Spindles can be subdivided into two groups, slow (10–13 Hz) and fast (13–16 Hz), which are each associated with different functions. Specifically, fast spindles oscillate in the high-sigma band and are associated with sensorimotor processing, which is affected by visual deprivation. However, how blindness influences spindle development has not yet been investigated. We recorded nap video-EEG of 50 blind/severely visually impaired (BSI) and 64 sighted children aged 5 months to 6 years old. We considered aspects of both macro- and micro-structural spindles. The BSI children lacked the evolution of developmental spindles within the central area. Specifically, young BSI children presented low central high-sigma and high-beta (25–30 Hz) event-related spectral perturbation and showed no signs of maturational decrease. High-sigma and high-beta activity in the BSI group correlated with clinical indices predicting perceptual and motor disorders. Our findings suggest that fast spindles are pivotal biomarkers for identifying an early developmental deviation in BSI children. These findings are critical for initial therapeutic intervention.
