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Characteristics of arousal mechanisms from sleep in infants and children

par Franco, Patricia ;Raoux, Aude;Higgins, Susan;Kato, Ineko;Montemitro, Enza;Groswasser, José ;Scaillet, Sonia ;Lin, Jian-Sheng
Référence Sleep in Children: Developmental Changes in Sleep Patterns, Second Edition, CRC Press, page (115-134)
Publication Publié, 2008-01

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Résumé :

If sleep is of great importance for the well being of humans, the propensity to arouse from sleep is an integrative part of the sleep structure. Compared with the large amount of studies on sleep characteristics, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms controlling arousals. These mechanisms allow sleep to continue in the face of stimuli that normally elicit responses during wakefulness, but also permit awakening to the most urgent information. Such adaptive mechanisms imply that malfunction may have clinical importance. Inadequate arousal control in infants and children is associated with a variety of sleep-related problems. An excessive propensity to arouse from sleep favors the development of repeated sleep disruptions and insomnia, with impairment of daytime alertness and per- formance (1-3). Lack of adequate arousal response to a noxious nocturnal stimulus reduces the infant’s chances to autoresuscitate, and survive, increasing the risk for the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (4-10). Indeed, future SIDS victims arouse less frequently, mainly during the last part of the night, when most deaths from SIDS occur (11).