Cortical Excitability Changes in Patients with Sleep-Wake Disturbances after Traumatic Brain Injury

Nardone, R., Bergmann, J., Kunz, A., Caleri, F., Seidi, M., Tezzon, F., Gerstenbrand, F., Trinka, E., & Golaszewski, S. (2011). Cortical Excitability Changes in Patients with Sleep-Wake Disturbances after Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Neurotrama. Retrieved from Psychology Journals.

People have trouble sleeping and/or staying awake after major brain trauma. One disturbance that is prevalent is called excessive daytime sleepiness. In the article I read for sleep problems, "Cortical Excitability Changes in Patients with Sleep-Wake Disturbances after Traumatic Brain Injury," the researchers used transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) to see if changes in cortical excitability was associated with the development of post-traumatic excessive daytime sleepiness. Researchers looked at: the resting motor threshold, the central motor conduction time, the intracortical inhibition to paired to TMS, and the intracortical facilitation to paired TMS. Patients were screened through several procedures for inclusion in the study. The severity of the brain injury was assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS) and by cerebral computed tomography using Marshall criteria. Those without any visible issues on the tomography were included. Interviews were used to determine the sleep-wake disturbances of the patients. An extensive sleep questionnaire was filled out and an overnight sleep study was conducted. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was given to see if depression was present. After all of the exclusions happened, 44 patients met the inclusion criteria. Three months after the traumatic brain injury, TMS was performed during the awake state. There was an increased short-latency intracortical inhibition(SICI) with those with objective EDS. This research provided suggestions to use TMS to see who might be suited for wake-promoting drugs.