Working memory deficits in patients with idiopathic restless legs syndrome are associated with abnormal theta-band neural synchrony.

Working memory deficits in patients with idiopathic restless legs syndrome are associated with abnormal theta-band neural synchrony. J Sleep Res. 2021 Feb 09;:e13287 Authors: Cha KS, Sunwoo JS, Byun JI, Kim TJ, Shin JW, Kim KH, Jung KY Abstract Cognitive impairment, particularly prefrontal function, has been reported in patients with restless legs syndrome. However, working memory performance in patients with restless legs syndrome remains uncertain. The present study aimed to examine working memory performance in patients with restless legs syndrome by investigating electroencephalography theta-band oscillations within task-relevant brain regions and the synchronization among oscillations during a working memory task. Twelve female idiopathic patients with restless legs syndrome and 12 female healthy controls participated in this study. Nineteen-channel electroencephalography data were recorded while participants performed a Sternberg working memory task. We analysed event-related theta-band activity and interregional theta-band phase synchrony during the memory retrieval phase. The spatial pattern of theta-band phase synchrony was quantified using graph theory measures, including the clustering coefficient, characteristic path length, and small-world propensity. Considerable increases in theta-band activity and theta-band phase synchrony were observed at 600-700 ms in controls and at 650-750 ms in restless legs syndrome subjects ...
Source: Journal of Sleep Research - Category: Sleep Medicine Authors: Tags: J Sleep Res Source Type: research