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Sleep Staging and Sleep EEG Flashcards

6 cards from real EEG practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 6 Sleep Staging and Sleep EEG flashcards as text

  1. A K-complex is defined as a well-delineated negative sharp wave followed by a positive component with a total duration of at least:

    Answer: 0.5 seconds

    AASM criteria define a K-complex as a biphasic wave lasting ≥0.5 seconds, maximal over frontal regions.

  2. Hypnagogic hypersynchrony in children refers to:

    Answer: High-amplitude 3–4.5 Hz rhythmic activity at drowsiness onset

    Hypnagogic hypersynchrony is a normal pediatric variant of high-amplitude slow rhythmic activity seen during drowsiness that should not be mistaken for a seizure.

  3. Sleep spindles are generated primarily by thalamocortical circuits involving which thalamic nucleus?

    Answer: Reticular nucleus of the thalamus

    The thalamic reticular nucleus acts as a pacemaker for sleep spindles through rhythmic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials to relay nuclei.

  4. During a routine EEG, the patient closes his eyes and 10 Hz activity appears posteriorly. When he opens his eyes this activity disappears. This is consistent with:

    Answer: Normal alpha rhythm with eye-opening attenuation

    Alpha rhythm (8–13 Hz) generated in the occipital cortex is reactive to eye opening and represents a normal, awake, relaxed EEG finding.

  5. Which of the following best describes POSTS (Positive Occipital Sharp Transients of Sleep)?

    Answer: Surface-positive sharply contoured occipital waves occurring in NREM sleep

    POSTS are surface-positive sharp waves in the occipital regions during NREM sleep and are a normal variant that must not be misread as epileptiform activity.

  6. The cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) in NREM sleep is significant because it:

    Answer: Reflects sleep instability and arousal fluctuations

    CAP is a periodic EEG activity during NREM that reflects cyclic arousal oscillations, and elevated CAP rates are associated with fragmented, non-restorative sleep.