The maturational changes of sleep cycle characteristics and EEG patterns were studied during different sleep states in preterm infants of various conceptional ages. The following criteria were used to differentiate sleep states.
Active sleep: rapid eye movements, irregular respiration and presence of various patterns of body movements.
Quiet sleep: absence of eye and body movements and regular respiration. Sleep states which could not be classified as either active or quiet sleep were regarded as indeterminate sleep. One minute smoothing time was used for the determination of sleep state. After 36 weeks of conceptional age, sleep cycle was better defined.
The amount of quiet sleep increased with the conceptional age. Indeterminate sleep decreased with maturation. The percentage of time the infants spent in active sleep decreased as the infants approach term. The duration of quiet sleep was approximately 20 minutes after 36 weeks of conceptional age.
Quiet sleep was divided mathematically into 3 equal parts. The distribution of EEG patterns in each part of quiet sleep was calculated at different conceptional ages. Before 36 weeks, EEG consisted of tracé alternant and a pattern of continous low voltage activity in all three parts of quiet sleep. After 36 weeks, high voltage and slow wave pattern. began to occur in the first third of quiet sleep and increased with conceptional age.
EEG consisted mainly of tracé alternant in the 2nd and 3rd part of quiet sleep. Active sleep also was not a constant stage. There were more slow waves with higher amplitude in the EEG after 36 weeks than before 36 weeks. After 36 weeks conceptional age, the transitional stage from active to quiet sleep continued about 2 minutes and the EEG in this stage consisted mainly of high voltage and slow wave pattern.
The duration of transitional stage after quiet sleep to the following active sleep was approximately 3 minutes. The EEG in this stage was almost of low voltage and irregular wave pattern.
In summary, high voltage and slow wave pattern appeared in quiet sleep and in the transitional stage from active to quiet sleep, at about 36 weeks of conceptional age and it gradually increased with the conceptinal age. This pattern predominated in the first part of quiet sleep.
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