Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/27460
Title: The neurophysiologic landscape of the sleep onset: a systematic review
Authors: Biabani, N
Birdseye, A
Higgins, S
Delogu, A
Rosenzweig, J
Cvetkovic, Z
Nesbitt, A
Drakatos, P
Steier, J
Kumari, V
O’Regan, D
Rosenzweig, I
Keywords: sleep onset;sleep onset period (SOP);neurophysiology
Issue Date: 14-Aug-2023
Publisher: AME Publishing
Citation: Biabani, N. et al. (2023) 'The neurophysiologic landscape of the sleep onset: a systematic review', Journal of Thoracic Disease, 15 (8), pp. 4530 - 4543. doi: 10.21037/jtd-23-325.
Abstract: Background: The sleep onset process is an ill-defined complex process of transition from wakefulness to sleep, characterized by progressive modifications at the subjective, behavioural, cognitive, and physiological levels. To this date, there is no international consensus which could aid a principled characterisation of this process for clinical research purposes. The current review aims to systemise the current knowledge about the underlying mechanisms of the natural heterogeneity of this process. Methods: In this systematic review, studies investigating the process of the sleep onset from 1970 to 2022 were identified using electronic database searches of PsychINFO, MEDLINE, and Embase. Results: A total of 139 studies were included; 110 studies in healthy participants and 29 studies in participants with sleep disorders. Overall, there is a limited consensus across a body of research about what distinct biomarkers of the sleep onset constitute. Only sparse data exists on the physiology, neurophysiology and behavioural mechanisms of the sleep onset, with majority of studies concentrating on the non-rapid eye movement stage 2 (NREM 2) as a potentially better defined and a more reliable time point that separates sleep from the wake, on the sleep wake continuum. Conclusions: The neurophysiologic landscape of sleep onset bears a complex pattern associated with a multitude of behavioural and physiological markers and remains poorly understood. The methodological variation and a heterogenous definition of the wake-sleep transition in various studies to date is understandable, given that sleep onset is a process that has fluctuating and ill-defined boundaries. Nonetheless, the principled characterisation of the sleep onset process is needed which will allow for a greater conceptualisation of the mechanisms underlying this process, further influencing the efficacy of current treatments for sleep disorders.
URI: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/27460
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21037/jtd-23-325
ISSN: 2072-1439
Other Identifiers: ORCID iD: Veena Kumari https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9635-5505
Appears in Collections:Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers

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