This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 200301-134OCv1 168/11/1298    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kato, I. Articles by Kahn, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kato, I. Articles by Kahn, A.

Incomplete Arousal Processes in Infants Who Were Victims of Sudden Death

Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya City University Medical School, Nagoya, Japan; Pediatric Sleep Unit, Neuropediatrics, Erasmus Hospital; Pediatric Sleep Unit, University Children's Hospital, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium; and St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Andre Kahn, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Avenue J.J. Crocq 15, B-1020 Brussels, Belgium. E-mail: akahn{at}ulb.ac.be

Infants who became victims of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) aroused less from sleep than control infants. This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of arousal from sleep of infants who eventually died of SIDS. Sixteen infants were monitored some days or weeks before they died of SIDS. Their polygraphic sleep recordings were compared with those of matched control infants. Arousals were scored as subcortical activation (incomplete arousals) or cortical arousal (complete arousals). Cortical arousals were significantly less frequent in the victims who would succumb to SIDS in the future than in the control infants during both REM and non-REM sleep (p = 0.039). The frequency (p = 0.017) and duration (p = 0.005) of subcortical activation were significantly greater in the infants who died of SIDS than in the control infants during REM sleep. Compared with the control infants, the infants who later died of SIDS had more frequent subcortical activation in the first part of the night, between 9:00 P.M. and 12:00 A.M. (p = 0.038), and fewer cortical arousals during the latter part of the night, between 3:00 and 6:00 A.M. (p = 0.011). The present data are suggestive of incomplete arousal processes in infants who eventually died at a time they were presumed to have been asleep.

Key Words: sleep • arousal • death • sudden infant death syndrome • apnea

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Bloch-Salisbury, P. Indic, F. Bednarek, and D. Paydarfar Stabilizing immature breathing patterns of preterm infants using stochastic mechanosensory stimulation J Appl Physiol, October 1, 2009; 107(4): 1017 - 1027. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. C. Kinney and B. T. Thach The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome N. Engl. J. Med., August 20, 2009; 361(8): 795 - 805. [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Bollen, M. Bouslama, B. Matrot, Y. Rotrou, G. Vardon, F. Lofaso, O. Van den Bergh, R. D'Hooge, and J. Gallego Cold stimulates the behavioral response to hypoxia in newborn mice Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, May 1, 2009; 296(5): R1503 - R1511. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S R Yiallourou, A M Walker, and R S C Horne Effects of sleeping position on development of infant cardiovascular control Arch. Dis. Child., October 1, 2008; 93(10): 868 - 872. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. St-Hilaire, N. Samson, E. Nsegbe, C. Duvareille, F. Moreau-Bussiere, P. Micheau, J. Lebon, and J.-P. Praud Postnatal maturation of laryngeal chemoreflexes in the preterm lamb J Appl Physiol, April 1, 2007; 102(4): 1429 - 1438. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Y. Bhat, S. Hannam, R. Pressler, G. F. Rafferty, J. L. Peacock, and A. Greenough Effect of Prone and Supine Position on Sleep, Apneas, and Arousal in Preterm Infants Pediatrics, July 1, 2006; 118(1): 101 - 107. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. St-Hilaire, E. Nsegbe, K. Gagnon-Gervais, N. Samson, F. Moreau-Bussiere, P.-H. Fortier, and J.-P. Praud Laryngeal chemoreflexes induced by acid, water, and saline in nonsedated newborn lambs during quiet sleep J Appl Physiol, June 1, 2005; 98(6): 2197 - 2203. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. L. McLemore, R. Z. B. Cooper, K. A. Richardson, A. V. Mason, C. Marshall, F. J. Northington, and E. B. Gauda Cannabinoid receptor expression in peripheral arterial chemoreceptors during postnatal development J Appl Physiol, October 1, 2004; 97(4): 1486 - 1495. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Tobin Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Control of Breathing, Respiratory Muscles, Pulmonary Function Testing in AJRCCM 2003 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., January 15, 2004; 169(2): 254 - 264. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Tobin Pediatrics, Surfactant, and Cystic Fibrosis in AJRCCM 2003 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., January 15, 2004; 169(2): 277 - 287. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. M. Harper Impaired Arousals and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Preexisting Neural Injury? Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., December 1, 2003; 168(11): 1262 - 1263. [Full Text] [PDF]