Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39987026›Full record

Observational studyJournal of neurodevelopmental disorders2025

Differences in sleep EEG coherence and spindle metrics in toddlers with and without receptive/expressive language delay: a prospective observational study.

Xinyi Hong, Cristan Farmer, Nataliia Kozhemiako, Gregory L Holmes, Lauren Thompson, Stacy Manwaring, Audrey Thurm, Ashura Buckley

Registry-linked trialAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01339767 (Markers of Autism Spectrum Disorders in At-Risk Toddlers), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01339767 completednot on this map

Markers of Autism Spectrum Disorders in At-Risk Toddlers: A Pilot Study

TypeobservationalSponsorNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)Ran2011 to 2017Enrolled77ConditionsAutism, Language Acquisition, Language Development, Toddlers
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Xinyi HongNational Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9717-6755
Cristan FarmerNational Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA.
Nataliia KozhemiakoBrigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Gregory L HolmesDepartment of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, 111 Colchester Ave, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA.
Lauren ThompsonNational Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA.
Stacy ManwaringNational Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA.
Audrey ThurmNational Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA.
Ashura BuckleyNational Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA. ashura.buckley@nih.gov.

Funding

Sleep and Neurodevelopment ServiceZIAMH002962 · NIMH · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH · PI BUCKLEY, ASHURA · 2020 to 2025
$13.7M
Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping ZICMH002961 · NIMH · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH · PI THURM, AUDREY · 2017 to 2025
$12.6M
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA MH002962Intramural NIH HHS ZIC MH002961NIMH NIH HHS NCT01339767NIMH NIH HHS ZIAMH002962NIMH NIH HHS ZICMH002961
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChanges in brain connectivity during development are thought to reflect organizational and maturational processes that correspond to skill acquisition in domains like motor, language, and cognition. This theory is supported by findings in typically developing children as well as observations of abnormal connectivity among children with neurodevelopmental differences. However, few coherence studies have capitalized on the potential of sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) to examine the developing brain, especially among very young children for whom formal neurodevelopmental diagnosis is not yet possible. Sleep microarchitecture in young children may offer key insights into neurophysiological abnormalities associated with neurodevelopmental trajectories and potentially aid in early detection and intervention. In this study, we explored sleep EEG coherence and sleep spindles in typically developing toddlers and toddlers at increased risk of later neurodevelopmental diagnoses.

methodsWe investigated EEG coherence and sleep spindles in 16 toddlers with receptive and expressive language delay (LangD) and 39 typically developing (TD) toddlers. Participants were aged 12-22 months at baseline, and 34 (LangD, n=11; TD, n=23) participants were evaluated again at 36 months of age.

resultsAverage EEG coherence was stronger in the LangD group than the TD group, with differences most prominent during slow-wave sleep. Some age-related increases in coherence were observed, but these did not differ between groups. Sleep spindle density, duration, and frequency changed between baseline and follow-up for both groups, with the LangD group demonstrating a smaller magnitude of change than the TD group. The direction of change was frequency band-dependent for both groups.

conclusionsThese findings indicate that atypical sleep EEG connectivity and sleep spindle development can be detected in toddlers at risk of later neurodevelopmental diagnoses.

trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01339767 ; Registration date: 4/20/2011.

Indexed as

BrainBrain WavesLanguage Development DisordersSleepChild, PreschoolElectroencephalographyFemaleHumansInfantMaleProspective StudiesBrain developmentCognitive functionDiagnostic markersLanguage delayNeurophysiologySleep architecture

Identifiers

PMID39987026
PMCPMC11847392

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.