The goal of this research is to investigate the effects of sleep restriction and sleep prolongation on cognitive processes in preschool and school-age children as measured by event-related potentials (ERPs). Children throughout the USA frequently face mild sleep restrictions due to a host of pressures - demands of homework, school activities, peer interactions, family activities - that reduce the number of hours of sleep children experience from day-to-day or week-to-week. Such changes can impact the child's ability to attend to classroom studies or other areas that place additional cognitive processing demands on the child. To pursue this goal, 480 children half females, from 4 through 8 years of age will participate in a number of cognitive tasks while their brain electrical activity is recorded. It is anticipated that changes in the topographic recordings of brain electrical patterns across the scalp will change as a function of sleep deprivation and sleep prolongation. Such changes will be characterized by latency shifts that reflect the rapidity in which the brain responds to information. Analyses will also attempt to localize the hypothesized sources within the brain where information is processed. This work will greatly enhance knowledge concerning the role sleep plays in brain and behavior and can lead to the development of a means to identify children potentially at cognitive risk because of chronic sleep restrictions. This is an important first step in minimizing potential negative risks of sleep restriction on cognitive development during the childhood years.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01HL070911-01A2
Application #
6821155
Study Section
Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section (CPDD)
Program Officer
Twery, Michael
Project Start
2004-07-15
Project End
2008-05-31
Budget Start
2004-07-15
Budget End
2005-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$367,291
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Louisville
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
057588857
City
Louisville
State
KY
Country
United States
Zip Code
40292
Molfese, Dennis L (2015) The need for theory to guide concussion research. Dev Neuropsychol 40:1-6
Nelson, Timothy D; Lundahl, Alyssa; Molfese, Dennis L et al. (2014) Estimating child sleep from parent report of time in bed: development and evaluation of adjustment approaches. J Pediatr Psychol 39:624-32
Dien, Joseph; Brian, Eric S; Molfese, Dennis L et al. (2013) Combined ERP/fMRI evidence for early word recognition effects in the posterior inferior temporal gyrus. Cortex 49:2307-21
Barnes, Maria E; Gozal, David; Molfese, Dennis L (2012) Attention in children with obstructive sleep apnoea: an event-related potentials study. Sleep Med 13:368-77
Spruyt, Karen; Molfese, Dennis L; Gozal, David (2011) Sleep duration, sleep regularity, body weight, and metabolic homeostasis in school-aged children. Pediatrics 127:e345-52
Spruyt, Karen; Gozal, David; Dayyat, Ehab et al. (2011) Sleep assessments in healthy school-aged children using actigraphy: concordance with polysomnography. J Sleep Res 20:223-32
Molfese, Victoria J; Molfese, Peter J; Molfese, Dennis L et al. (2010) Executive Function Skills of 6 to 8 Year Olds: Brain and Behavioral Evidence and Implications for School Achievement. Contemp Educ Psychol 35:116-125
Key, Alexandra P F; Molfese, Dennis L; O'Brien, Louise et al. (2009) Sleep-disordered breathing affects auditory processing in 5-7-year-old children: evidence from brain recordings. Dev Neuropsychol 34:615-28
Barnes, Maria E; Huss, Elizabeth A; Garrod, Krista N et al. (2009) Impairments in attention in occasionally snoring children: an event-related potential study. Dev Neuropsychol 34:629-49
Tan, Arlene A; Molfese, Dennis L (2009) ERP correlates of noun and verb processing in preschool-age children. Biol Psychol 80:46-51

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