Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and Features of the Neurophysiological Sleep Pattern

Abstract

The high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) causes a steady interest in this pathology. In recent years, one of the urgent problems in modern somnology is the assessment of the main mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction during the day and at night in OSA, the ideas about which, to a large extent, remain contradictory and not fully understood. One of the modern methods for assessing neuronal dysfunction during sleep is the study of the sleep microstructure, and for its assessment, the method of analysis of cyclic alternating pattern (CAP), an EEG marker of unstable sleep, is used. The cyclic alternating pattern is found both in the sleep of adults and children with various sleep disorders and, in particular, with OSAS, therefore, it is a sensitive tool for studying sleep disorders throughout life. With the elimination of night hypoxia against the background of CPAP therapy, the sleep microstructure is restored, the spectral characteristics of the EEG change, and a decrease in the number of EEG arousals after treatment leads to the restoration of daytime functioning. Understanding the role of short-term EEG activations of the brain during sleep can provide significant data on sleep functions in health and disease. Despite the improving diagnosis of sleep disorders using machine algorithms, assessing the relationship of structures and functions of the brain during sleep, neurophysiological data are not entirely clear, which requires further research. In this review, we tried to analyze the results of the main studies of the neurophysiological sleep pattern in OSA against the background of respiratory support during sleep.

Keywords

• sleep apnea syndrome
• sleep microstructure
• cyclic alternations
• cpap therapy