This is a revised application for a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award to support a program of research and training in pediatric sleep medicine and developmental child psychopathology. Sleep disorders and insufficient sleep in adults are common and are associated with serious sequelae including increased morbidity, affective disturbance, injury, and loss of productivity in the work place. The effects of insufficient sleep on pre-adolescents have only been addressed in a few studies. If the effects in children prove to be as far ranging as those documented in adults, sleep disturbance may interfere with the development of cognitive, academic, and social skills and in the developing capacity to regulate attention and emotion. To begin to elucidate these effects, the candidate proposes to use a sleep restriction protocol in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (a common and serious sleep disorder) and in a healthy comparison group. In carrying out the proposed study the candidate will: 1) establish a methodology to measure the impact of insufficient sleep on children; 2) characterize the impact of insufficient sleep on specific cognitive domains and the regulation of affective and attentional states; and 3) study the daytime sequelae of obstructive sleep apnea in children. Specific 1C aspects of the training program will involve: 1) advanced course work in multivariate data analytic techniques and neuropsychological assessment; 2) laboratory-based training in the instrumentation and measurement of sleep, and more specifically sleep disruption, with an emphasis on power spectral analysis of electroencephalograms; 3) seminars in sleep medicine, affective neuroscience, and neuroanatomy; and 4) an introduction to fMRI study methodology and its application in sleep research in order to establish collaborative research efforts. The candidate's research and training plans will lead toward independent scientific investigation in the field of pediatric sleep medicine with the ultimate goal of improving the mental and physical health of children.
| Huntley, Edward D; Campo, John V; Dahl, Ronald E et al. (2007) Sleep characteristics of youth with functional abdominal pain and a healthy comparison group. J Pediatr Psychol 32:938-49 |
| Alfano, Candice A; Beidel, Deborah C; Turner, Samuel M et al. (2006) Preliminary evidence for sleep complaints among children referred for anxiety. Sleep Med 7:467-73 |
