Ultradian rhythms of alternating cerebral hemispheric EEG dominance are coupled to rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement stage 4 sleep in humans

Shannahoff-Khalsa, David S; Gillin, J.Christian; Yates, F.Eugene; Schlosser, Arlene; Zawadzki, Eugene M

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Volume 2, Issue 4 , Pages 333-346, July 2001

Ultradian rhythms of alternating cerebral hemispheric EEG dominance are coupled to rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement stage 4 sleep in humans

David S Shannahoff-Khalsa
- The Research Group for Mind–Body Dynamics, Institute for Nonlinear Science (0402), University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0402, USA
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92103-8341, USA
- The Khalsa Foundation for Medical Science, Del Mar, CA 92014, USA
- CoDebris, Solana Beach, CA 92075, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel. +1-858-534-0154; fax: +1-858-534-7664
J.Christian Gillin
- Mental Health Clinical Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
- Psychiatry Service 116A, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA 92161, USA
F.Eugene Yates
- Medical Monitoring Unit, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90025-7014, USA
Arlene Schlosser
- Mental Health Clinical Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
- Psychiatry Service 116A, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA 92161, USA
Eugene M Zawadzki
- CoDebris, Solana Beach, CA 92075, USA

Received 30 May 2000; received in revised form 28 July 2000; accepted 28 July 2000.

Abstract

Objective: To replicate the left minus right (L−R) hemisphere EEG power shifts coupled to rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep observed in 1972 by Goldstein (Physiol Behav (1972) 811), and to characterize the L−R EEG power spectra for total EEG, delta, theta, alpha and beta bands.

Background: Ultradian alternating cerebral hemispheric dominance rhythms are observed using EEG during both waking and sleep, and with waking cognition. The question of whether this cerebral rhythm is coupled to the REM–NREM sleep cycle and the basic rest–activity cycle (BRAC) deserves attention.

Methods: L−R EEG signals for ten young, normal adult males were converted to powers and the means were normalized, smoothed and subtracted. Sleep hypnograms were compared with L−R EEGs, and spectra were computed for C3, C4 and L−R EEG powers.

Results: Significant peaks were found for all C3, C4 and L−R frequency bands at the 280–300, 75–125, 55–70 and 25–50 min bins, with power dominating in the 75–125 min bin. L−R EEG rhythms were observed for all bands. Greater right hemisphere EEG dominance was found during NREM stage 4 sleep, and greater left during REM for total EEG, delta and alpha bands (Chi-squares, P<0.001). Theta was similar, but not significant (P=0.163), and beta was equivocal.

Conclusions: Earlier ultradian studies show that lateral EEG and L−R EEG power have a common pacemaker, or a mutually entrained pacemaker with the autonomic, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and fuel-regulatory hormone systems. These results for L−R EEG coupling to sleep stages and multi-variate relations may present a new perspective for Kleitman's BRAC and for diagnosing variants of pathopsychophysiological states.

Keywords: Laterality, Sleep states, Physiological states, Rapid eye movement–non-rapid eye movement sleep cycle, Biorhythms, Basic rest–activity cycle, Hypothalamus