Unfair treatment is associated with poor sleep in African American and Caucasian adults: Pittsburgh SleepSCORE project.

Objective: To test the association between self-reported unfair treatment and objective and self-reported sleep characteristics in African American and Caucasian adults. Design: Cross-sectional study of 97 African American and 113 Caucasian middle-aged adults. Main Outcome Measures: Participants completed: (a) two-night in-home, polysomnography (PSG) sleep study, (b) sleep diaries and actigraph assessments across 9 days and nights, and (c) self-report measures of sleep quality in the past month, and daytime sleepiness in the past 2 weeks. Results: Greater unfair treatment was associated with reports of poorer self-reported sleep quality and greater daytime sleepiness, shorter sleep duration, and lower sleep efficiency as measured by actigraphy and PSG, and a smaller proportion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Racial/ethnic differences were few. Exploratory analyses showed that nightly worry partially mediated the associations of unfair treatment with sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, sleep efficiency (actigraphy), and proportion of REM sleep. Conclusion: Perceptions of unfair treatment are associated with sleep disturbances in both African American and Caucasian adults. Future studies are needed to identify the pathways that account for the association between unfair treatment and sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breastfeeding, dummy use, and adult intelligence

BACKGROUND: Several studies show that children who were breastfed as babies gain higher scores on intelligence tests than those who were bottlefed. Although these findings suggest that breastfeeding in early life may promote cognitive development, their interpretation is complicated by the current association between breastfeeding and higher social class. We investigated the relation between method of feeding in infancy and adult intelligence in a setting where breastfeeding was not linked with socioeconomic advantage. METHODS: We followed up 994 men and women, born between 1920 and 1930 in Hertfordshire, UK, for whom information on infant feeding had been recorded by health visitors. Intelligence was measured by the AH4 IQ test, taken on a computer. Factors significantly linked with IQ were investigated by multivariate analysis. FINDINGS: Study participants who had been exclusively breastfed gained slightly higher scores on the IQ test than those who had been exclusively bottlefed, or fed with both breast and bottle. IQ was lower in participants who had used a dummy (pacifier) in infancy, in those whose fathers were in manual occupations at the time of their birth, and in those whose mothers were young at the time they were born. Scores on the IQ test fell as the number of older siblings increased. In multivariate analysis, after adjustment for the effect of all other variables, no association was found between adult intelligence and method of feeding. Dummy use in infancy, number of older siblings, maternal age at birth of the participant, and father's occupational class remained independent predictors of adult intelligence. INTERPRETATION: The mechanisms that link type of feeding in early life with later intelligence may have more to do with the child's social environment that with the nutritional qualities of the milk.     

A longitudinal study of preschoolers' language-based bedtime routines, sleep duration, and well-being.

To investigate the associations of caregiver-reported use of language-based bedtime routines among preschoolers at age 3 with children's nighttime sleep duration and cognitive, behavioral, and health outcomes at age 5. Furthermore, we wanted to identify whether parental or household characteristics help explain these associations. We used data on 4,274 children from birth to age 5, drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW), a longitudinal birth cohort study of at-risk children born between 1998 and 2000 in 20 U.S. cities. We used ordinary least squares (for continuous outcomes) and logistic regressions (for dichotomous outcomes) to estimate associations of language-based bedtime routines at age 3 with sleep duration and cognitive, behavioral, and health outcomes at age 5, net of a host of child and family background characteristics. After adjustment for child and family characteristics, we observed a positive association between language-based bedtime routines and both nighttime sleep duration and verbal test scores. Language-based bedtime routines were also inversely associated with behavior problems (anxious, withdrawn, and aggressive behaviors) and positively associated with better general health, yet adjustment for family background characteristics attenuated these associations. No associations were found between language-based bedtime routines and obesity. Results were confirmed using propensity score matching. This research suggests regular use of language-based bedtime routines including singing, reading, and/or storytelling at bedtime may have a lasting positive benefit for children's sleep duration and cognitive development; we find little evidence of such a benefit for child behavior or health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treating arousals during sleep using behavioral self-management.

Found that self-management training was associated with increased sleep efficiency, reduced number of arousals and minutes awake after sleep onset during the 1st 3rd of the night, reported improvements in the sleep quality, and less daytime sleepiness for a 58-yr-old female S. These effects were documented using laboratory and home sleep recordings and self-reports over a 5-yr period. The results suggest 2 important leads for the further development of strategies for treating the complaint of insomnia. First, multicomponent strategies to modify a variety of daytime and nighttime variables based on individual behavioral analyses may be needed. Second, maintaining improvement in sleep and daytime behavior may require that clients learn problem-solving and self-management skills, with an emphasis on experiencing a greater sense of control over factors related to good and poor sleep. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention problems, inhibitory control, and intelligence index overlapping genetic factors: A study in 9-, 12-, and 18-year-old twins.

It is assumed that attention problems (AP) are related to impaired executive functioning. We investigated the association between AP and inhibitory control and tested to what extent the association was due to genetic factors shared with IQ. Data were available from 3 independent samples of 9-, 12-, and 18-year-old twins and their siblings (1,209 participants). AP were assessed with checklists completed by multiple informants. Inhibitory control was measured with the Stroop Color Word Task (Stroop, 1935), and IQ with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Wechsler et al., 2002) or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Wechsler, 1997). AP and inhibitory control were only correlated in the 12-year-old cohort (r = .18), but appeared non-significant after controlling for IQ. Significant correlations existed between AP and IQ in 9- and 12-year olds (r = ?.26/–.34). Inhibitory control and IQ were correlated in all cohorts (r = ?.16, ?.24 and ?.35, respectively). Genetic factors that influenced IQ also influenced inhibitory control. We conclude that the association between AP and inhibitory control as reported in the literature may largely derive from genetic factors that are shared with IQ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loneliness impairs daytime functioning but not sleep duration.

Objective: To assess the prospective association between daily feelings of loneliness and subsequent feelings of daytime dysfunction indicative of poor sleep quality. Design: Three consecutive end-of-day diaries were completed by a population-based sample of 215 adults (mean age = 57.5 years, SD = 4.4). Diary questions probed sleep duration, daytime dysfunction (i.e., fatigue, low energy, sleepiness), loneliness, physical symptoms, and depressed affect experienced that day. Chronic health condition data and body mass index were also obtained. Autoregressive cross-lagged panel models were used to examine the magnitude of reciprocal prospective associations between loneliness and daytime dysfunction. Main Outcome Measures: Unstandardized path coefficients adjusted for race/ethnicity, sleep duration, marital status, household income, chronic health conditions, and health symptom severity. Results: Daily variations in loneliness predicted subsequent feelings of daytime dysfunction (B = 0.16, p     

An exploratory analysis of American Indian children's cultural engagement, fluid cognitive skills, and standardized verbal IQ scores.

This exploratory cross-sectional study examined fluid cognitive skills and standardized verbal IQ scores in relation to cultural engagement amongst Tohono O'odham children (N = 99; ages 7 to 12 years). Guardians with higher socioeconomic status engaged their children in more cultural activities, and participation in more cultural activities contributed to higher standardized verbal IQ scores. Mean cognitive skill scores varied as a function of age and Tohono O'odham language knowledge. Children who understood and/or spoke Tohono O'odham started out with lower average scores than did children with no language knowledge, but mean scores generally increased in the older age groups such that they were equal to or higher than those of nonspeakers by age 9. Children with higher fluid cognitive skill scores had higher standardized verbal IQ scores than did children with lower scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concomitant radiotherapy with mitomycin C and bleomycin compared with radiotherapy alone in inoperable head and neck cancer: final report

We evaluated the efficiency of two different treatment procedures with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on sleep, nocturnal breathing characteristics and daytime vigilance in 18 newly diagnosed patients with untreated sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (SAHS) randomly allocated to two different groups. In group I, the positive pressure (PP) level was set to suppress flow limitation (PFL), while in group II the PP was set at a level that eliminated only apnoea/hypopnoea and snoring (PAHS). At the end of a 3 week period of home CPAP therapy, a follow-up sleep study, vigilance and cognitive tests were made. Overall, PFL was significantly higher than PAHS values (PFL: 10.42.6 cmH2O; PAHS: 8.9+/-2.6 cmH2O; p<0.01, mean+/-SD). We found no difference in sleep quality, nocturnal saturation and apnoea/hypopnoea index, or in daytime vigilance tests between the two groups at the end of the treatment period. However, there was a significantly greater scattering in the changes of sleep latency in group II than in group I. This was associated with a significant difference in the daily duration of nasal CPAP use between the two groups (group I: 7.29+/-0.95 h x day(-1); group II: 6.01+/-0.94 h x day(-1); p=0.01) and with a positive correlation between final maintenance of wakefulness test values and the duration of CPAP use (p<0.05; r=0.55). These results tend to show that correcting flow limitation is associated with a higher observance and a more important efficiency in normalizing daytime vigilance than with conventional nasal continuous positive airway pressure.     

The Impact of Childhood Intelligence on Later Life: Following Up the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947.

The Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947 collected valid IQ-type test scores for almost everyone born in 1921 and 1936 and attending school on June 1, 1932 (N=89,498) and June 4, 1947 (N=70,805). These surveys are described. This research, using the surveys' data, examined (a) the stability of intelligence differences across the life span, (b) the determinants of cognitive change from childhood to old age, and (c) the impact of childhood intelligence on survival and health in old age. Surviving participants of the Scottish Mental Surveys were tested, and the surveys' data were linked with public and health records. Novel findings on the stability of IQ scores from age 11 to age 80; sex differences in cognitive aging; the dedifferentiation hypothesis of cognitive aging; and the effect of childhood IQ on all-cause and specific mortality, morbidity, and frailty in old age are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child sleep disorders: Associations with parental sleep duration and daytime sleepiness.

This study examined the associations between childhood sleep disorders and mothers' and fathers' sleep duration and daytime sleepiness. One hundred seven families of children (ages 2-12 years) presenting to a pediatric sleep disorders clinic completed questionnaires assessing the sleep symptoms of the mother, father, and child. Parents of children with more than 1 type of sleep disorder experienced more daytime sleepiness than parents of children with a single sleep disorder. The pattern of results suggested more associations between maternal and child sleep than between paternal and child sleep. Within families, mothers reported significantly more daytime sleepiness than fathers, although there were no parental differences in sleep duration. Results provide preliminary evidence for an association between child sleep problems and parental daytime sleepiness, which may, in turn, extend previous research linking young children's sleep problems and parental functioning. Implications for treatment of both children and adults with sleep problems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sleep spindles and learning potential.

The number of sleep spindles remains relatively stable within individuals from night to night. However, there is little explanation for the large interindividual differences in spindles. The authors investigated the relationship between spindles and intelligence quotient (IQ) in 3 separate studies. The number of spindles and sigma power were positively correlated with performance IQ (PIQ), but not verbal IQ (VIQ). The perceptual/analytical skills measured by the PIQ Picture Completion subscale accounted for most of the interindividual differences in spindles. Furthermore, there was a relationship between the rapid eye movements (REMs) of REM sleep and VIQ in individuals with higher IQ scores. A similar pattern was observed between spindles and PIQ. It was hypothesized that high-IQ individuals have more spindles that can support more complex cortical networks underlying perceptual/analytical abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic inhibition of NO synthase enhances the production of prostacyclin in coronary arteries through upregulation of the cyclooxygenase type 1 isoform

The relationships of medical, developmental, social, and familial variables to intellectual performances (IQ scores) were assessed in a sample of 242 adult patients with intractable lateralized temporal lobe epilepsy. Lower IQ scores were associated with low patient and parent education. In addition to the significant contributions of nonneurological social and familial factors to IQ, early age at onset of regular seizures and presence of primary neurological dysfunction in the left cerebral hemisphere were also both independently related to lower IQ. The obtained results suggest that the occurrence of regular seizures during a critical period in early childhood neural maturation poses the greatest risk to cognitive development in the epilepsy population. Total duration of seizures, history of severe convulsive episodes, and the occurrence of another nonepileptic neurological problem in early childhood do not contribute significantly to delayed cognitive development.     

Intelligence, schooling, and society.

IQ test scores are measures of g, or general intelligence, the common element present in diverse tests of cognitive abilities that are positively related to each other. IQ scores are related to the acquisition of knowledge in school and occupational settings. IQ test scores also relate to the academic achievements of one's children. In many contexts, the relationship between IQ and various outcomes is not attributable to the relationship between IQ and social class background. IQ is an index that distinguishes among individuals with common social and demographic backgrounds. The relationship between IQ and various outcome measures may be reduced by relying on multivariable selection procedures, by modifying educational and occupational practices, and by interventions designed to increase IQ. Representative studies that provide evidence for these assertions are considered. Although the influence of the ability indexed by IQ may be reduced, it probably cannot be eliminated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns.

Presents findings of a task force established by the American Psychological Association to report on the issues of what is known and unknown about intelligence. Significant conceptualizations of intelligence are reviewed, including the psychometric approach, theories of multiple forms of intelligence, cultural variations, theories of developmental progressions, and biological approaches. The meaning of intelligence test scores, what they predict, and how well they predict intelligence is discussed. Genetic factors and intelligence, focusing on individual differences, conventional IQ tests, and other tests intended to measure cognitive ability, are described. Environmental factors such as social and biological variables are discussed, and sex and ethnic group differences are addressed. Recommendations for future research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenic responses to the Proverbs Test: Abstract, concrete, or autistic.

Psychopathology was more effective in predicting autistic responses to proverbs of acutely ill schizophrenic patients than was intelligence as measured by the Wechsler Vocabulary subtest. Autistic responses decreased significantly from pre- to post-5 wk. of hospital treatment. There was no difference in the frequency of these responses between high and low verbal IQ groups, nor did level of IQ affect the decrease in autistic responses. These findings were contrasted with those of a previous study which showed that the traditional abstract and concrete scores of responses to proverbs were highly correlated with intelligence even with the effects of pathology statistically controlled, and did not improve with treatment except when IQ was above average. The present study further demonstrated that while autistic responses were negatively related to abstract scores, they were relatively unrelated to concrete scores. The overall findings were consistent with both earlier theoretical formulations and more recent empirical investigations regarding cognitive deficit in schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cortisol secretion is related to electroencephalographic alertness in human subjects during daytime wakefulness

To determine whether human hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis activity is related to the alertness level during wakefulness, 10 healthy young men were studied under resting conditions in the daytime (0900-1800 h) after an 8-h nighttime sleep (2300-0700 h). A serial 70-sec gaze fixation task was required every 10 min throughout the daytime experimental session. The corresponding waking electroencephalographic (EEG) segments were submitted to quantitative spectral analysis, from which EEG beta activity (absolute power density in the 13-35 Hz frequency band), an index of central alertness, was computed. Blood was collected continuously through an indwelling venous catheter and sampled at 10-min intervals. Plasma cortisol concentrations were measured by RIA, and the corresponding secretory rates were determined by a deconvolution procedure. Analysis of individual profiles demonstrated a declining tendency for EEG beta activity and cortisol secretory rate, with an overall temporal relationship indicated by positive and significant cross-correlation coefficients between the two variables in all subjects (average r=0.565, P < 0.001). Changes in cortisol secretion lagged behind fluctuations in EEG beta activity, with an average delay of 10 min for all the subjects. On the average, 4.6+/-0.4 cortisol secretory pulses and 4.9+/-0.5 peaks in EEG beta activity were identified by a detection algorithm. A significant, although not systematic, association between the episodes in the two variables was found: 44% of the peaks in EEG beta activity (relative amplitude, near 125%; P < 0.001) occurred during an ascending phase of cortisol secretion, cortisol secretory rates increasing by 40% (P < 0.01) 10-min after peaks in EEG beta activity. However, no significant change in EEG beta activity was observed during the period from 50 min before to 50 min after pulses in cortisol secretion. In conclusion, the present study describes a temporal coupling between cortisol release and central alertness, as reflected in the waking EEG beta activity. These findings suggest the existence of connections between the mechanisms involved in the control of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal activity and the activation processes of the brain, which undergoes varying degrees of alertness throughout daytime wakefulness.     

Children's cognitive ability from 4 to 9 years old as a function of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence.

This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence on children's cognitive ability. Gender and age were examined as moderators of potential cocaine exposure effects. The Stanford-Binet IV intelligence test was administered to 231 children (91 cocaine exposed, 140 unexposed) at ages 4, 6, and 9 years. Neonatal medical risk and other prenatal exposures (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) were also examined for their unique effects on child IQ. Mixed models analysis indicated that prenatal cocaine exposure interacted with gender, as cocaine-exposed boys had lower composite IQ scores. Age at assessment did not moderate this relation, indicating that cocaine-exposed boys had lower IQs across this age period. A stimulating home environment and high maternal verbal IQ also predicted higher composite IQ scores. Cocaine-exposed boys had lower scores on the Abstract/Visual Reasoning subscale, with trends for lower scores on the Short-Term Memory and Verbal Reasoning subscales, as exposure effects were observed across domains. The findings indicate that cocaine exposure continues to place children at risk for mild cognitive deficits into preadolescence. Possible mechanisms for the Exposure × Gender interaction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological functioning in older insomniacs with or without obstructive sleep apnea.

The relationships between neuropsychological functioning and sleep loss, sleep apnea, and hypoxemia were examined. Forty-five older insomniacs (M age?=?64.6 yrs) with or without sleep apnea were administered neuropsychological tests after 1 night of nocturnal monitoring in a sleep laboratory. The results showed few differences on cognitive and psychomotor performance between individuals with sleep disruptions alone compared with those whose insomnia was associated with sleep apnea and hypoxemia. There were no significant relationships between nocturnal sleep and respiratory variables and daytime functioning. Furthermore, cognitive and psychomotor performance in older insomniacs with or without sleep apnea revealed minimal impairment compared with age-matched normative data. The results suggest that when the severity of sleep disruptions is controlled, there are minimal differences in neuropsychological functioning of older adults with mild to moderate sleep apnea compared with those without apnea. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's objective and subjective sleep disruptions: Links with afternoon cortisol levels.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine possible relations between the quality and amount of children's sleep and cortisol in healthy children. Design: Children's sleep was monitored with actigraphs for 7 nights. Children came to the laboratory to provide saliva samples, which were used to assess cortisol. Children reported on their sleepiness and sleep/wake problems. Sixty-four healthy children participated (M = 8.75 years; SD = .55). Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported sleepiness and sleep/wake problems, actigraphy-measured total sleep minutes, sleep efficiency, minutes awake after sleep onset, and sleep activity, and afternoon cortisol levels. Results: After controlling for demographic variables and child characteristics, higher levels of cortisol were related to increased subjective sleep problems and objective measures of shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality. Conclusion: These findings are of importance for understanding critical facets of children's health and well-being, and are noteworthy given the high prevalence of sleep disruptions in otherwise normally developing children in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inhibition of cGMP mediated relaxation in small rat coronary arteries by block of CA++ activated K+ channels

Children with sleep disorders are often inattentive or hyperactive, and some carry a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) until their sleep disorder is detected. However, the potential behavioral impact of undiagnosed sleep disorders is not known. We sought to determine whether children with higher levels of inattention and hyperactivity more frequently have symptoms of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) or periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). We surveyed parents of 2-18-year-old patients at a child psychiatry clinic (n = 70) and a general pediatrics clinic (n = 73) to assess the children's behavior, snoring, complaints of restless legs at night, and daytime sleepiness. A validated pediatric sleep questionnaire provided the explanatory variables, and a scale for inattention and hyperactivity, derived from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), provided the dependent variable. Habitual snoring was more frequent (33%) among children who carried a diagnosis of ADHD than among the other children at the psychiatry or general pediatric clinics (11 and 9%, respectively, chi-square test, p = 0.01). Snoring scores, derived from six snoring- and SRBD-related question items, were associated with higher levels of inattention and hyperactivity. The complaint of restless legs and a composite score for daytime sleepiness showed some evidence, though less consistent, of an association with inattention and hyperactivity. The association of snoring with inattention and hyperactivity suggests that SRBDs and perhaps other sleep disorders could be a cause of inattention and hyperactivity in some children. If a causal effect is present, our data suggest that 81% of habitually snoring children who have ADHD--25% of all children with ADHD--could have their ADHD eliminated if their habitual snoring and any associated SRBD were effectively treated.