Reduced sleep spindle activity in early-onset and elevated risk for depression Running head: Sleep Spindles and Adolescent MDD

摘要

ObjectiveSleep disturbances are common in major depressive disorder (MDD), although polysomnographic (PSG) abnormalities are more prevalent in adults than in children and adolescents with MDD. Sleep spindle activity (SPA) is associated with neuroplasticity mechanisms during brain maturation and is more abundant in childhood and adolescence than in adulthood, and as such, may be a more sensitive measure of sleep alteration than PSG in early-onset depression. This study investigated SPA changes related to early-onset MDD, comparing those already ill and those at high-risk for MDD to healthy non-depressed controls.