Sleep Characteristics and Socio-Emotional Functioning of Gifted Children.

OBJECTIVES/BACKGROUND: Intellectual giftedness is characterized by an intellectual development superior to peers, while emotional and relational developments correspond to the age norms. Few empirical researches have investigated sleep profile of gifted children (GC) and its association with their well-being, all of which used IQ as the sole definition criteria for GC. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between giftedness and sleep on socio-emotional functioning. PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 32 GC (25 boys; mean age = 9.62, SD = 1.81) and 17 typically-developing children (TD: 13 boys; mean age = 10.23 years, SD = 1.95). Giftedness was identified using Renzulli's three-factor definition of giftedness. METHODS: Children's sleep and socio-emotional functioning were respectively assessed with the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist, both completed by parents. RESULTS: Being in the GC group increased by 4.67 times the risk of having sleep problems and 14.12 times the risk of having maladaptive behaviors. Two-way ANOVA tests showed that sleep problems tended to moderate the relation between giftedness and adjustment difficulties so that the combination of giftedness and sleep problems appeared to be prejudicial to socio-emotional functioning. CONCLUSION: Giftedness could be a risk factor for sleep disorders as well as adjustment difficulties. The present results support the importance of addressing sleep in the GC assessment to improve their well-being and eventually limit the negative impacts of sleep difficulties on emotional and behavioral functioning.

Peripheral Endogenous Cannabinoid Levels Are Increased in Schizophrenia Patients Evaluated in a Psychiatric Emergency Setting.

BACKGROUND: The endogenous cannabinoid system mediates the psychoactive effects of cannabis in the brain. It has been argued that this system may play a key role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. While some studies have consistently shown that the levels of anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid ligand, are increased in the cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenia patients, inconsistent results have been observed in studies measuring anandamide levels in the periphery. Here, we sought to determine if the assessment of peripheral anandamide levels in patients evaluated in a psychiatric emergency setting would show robust increases. METHODS: One hundred seven patients with a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder from the psychiatric emergency settings of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal and 36 healthy volunteers were included in the study. A subsample of thirty patients were assessed at two time points: at the emergency and at their discharge from the hospital. Anxious and depressive symptoms, sleep and substance use were assessed using self-report questionnaires. In addition to anandamide, the levels of oleoylethanolamide (OEA), an anorexigenic fatty-acid ethanolamide, were also measured, since the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome is increased in schizophrenia. Plasma levels of anandamide and OEA were measured using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Plasma anandamide and OEA levels were significantly increased in schizophrenia patients, relative to controls (Cohen's d=1.0 and 0.5, respectively). Between-group differences remained significant after controlling for metabolic measures. No differences were observed between schizophrenia patients with and without a comorbid substance use disorder at baseline. Importantly, the levels of both endocannabinoids significantly decreased after discharge from the emergency setting. CONCLUSION: The current results add to the growing body of evidence of endocannabinoid alterations in schizophrenia. The strong elevation of plasma anandamide levels in schizophrenia patients assessed in the psychiatric emergency setting suggests that anandamide and OEA area potential biomarkers of the psychological turmoil associated with this context.

Intelligence measures and stage 2 sleep in typically-developing and autistic children.

The relationship between intelligence measures and 2 EEG measures of non-rapid eye movement sleep, sleep spindles and Sigma activity, was examined in 13 typically-developing (TD) and 13 autistic children with normal IQ and no complaints of poor sleep. Sleep spindles and Sigma EEG activity were computed for frontal (Fp1, Fp2) and central (C3, C4) recording sites. Time in stage 2 sleep and IQ was similar in both groups. Autistic children presented less spindles at Fp2 compared to the TD children. TD children showed negative correlation between verbal IQ and sleep spindle density at Fp2. In the autistic group, verbal and full-scale IQ scores correlated negatively with C3 sleep spindle density. The duration of sleep spindles at Fp1 was shorter in the autistic group than in the TD children. The duration of sleep spindles at C4 was positively correlated with verbal IQ only in the TD group. Fast Sigma EEG activity (13.25-15.75 Hz) was lower at C3 and C4 in autistic children compared to the TD children, particularly in the latter part of the night. Only the TD group showed positive correlation between performance IQ and latter part of the night fast Sigma activity at C4. These results are consistent with a relationship between EEG activity during sleep and cognitive processing in children. The difference between TD and autistic children could derive from dissimilar cortical organization and information processing in these 2 groups.