A Review of the Effects of Hypoxia, Sleep Deprivation and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on EEG Activity in Humans: Challenges for Drug Discovery for Alzheimer's Disease

Title:A Review of the Effects of Hypoxia, Sleep Deprivation and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on EEG Activity in Humans: Challenges for Drug Discovery for Alzheimer's Disease

Volume: 11 Issue: 5

Author(s): Claudio Babiloni, Claudio Del Percio, Roberta Lizio, Francesco Infarinato, Olivier Blin, David Bartres-Faz, Sophie L Dix, Marina Bentivoglio, Andrea Soricelli, Regis Bordet, Paolo M. Rossini and Jill C. Richardson

Affiliation:

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, drug research, electroencephalography (EEG), hypoxia, IMI PharmaCog, sleep deprivation, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Abstract: Different kinds of challenge can alter cognitive process and electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in humans. This can provide an alternative paradigms to evaluate treatment effects in drug discovery. Here, we report recent findings on the effects of challenges represented by sleep deprivation (SD), transient hypoxia, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in healthy volunteers on cognitive processes and EEG rhythms to build a knowledge platform for novel research for drug discovery in AD Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sleep pressure enhanced frontal delta rhythms (< 4 Hz) during the night, while SD increased slow rhythms in the theta range (4-7 Hz), and reduced resting state alpha rhythms (8-12 Hz) after the following day. Furthermore, SD transiently affected cognitive performance. In contrast, transient experimental hypoxia induced abnormal posterior resting state delta and alpha rhythms in healthy volunteers that resemble the abnormal EEG rhythms typically recorded in AD patients. However, the relationship between the cognitive and EEG effects of such challenges is poorly understood. TMS reversibly interfered with higher brain functions during EEG recordings, but few studies have investigated the relationship between the cognitive and EEG effects of TMS. In conclusion, SD is the most mature challenge model for testing new drugs for AD. Future investigation is needed to better understand the opportunities offered by TMS and hypoxia challenges.

Cite this article as:

Babiloni Claudio, Percio Del Claudio, Lizio Roberta, Infarinato Francesco, Blin Olivier, Bartres-Faz David, Dix L Sophie, Bentivoglio Marina, Soricelli Andrea, Bordet Regis, Rossini M. Paolo and Richardson C. Jill, A Review of the Effects of Hypoxia, Sleep Deprivation and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on EEG Activity in Humans: Challenges for Drug Discovery for Alzheimer's Disease, Current Alzheimer Research 2014; 11 (5) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1567205011666140317095623