Practice Test GeeksEEG - Electroencephalography Practice Test
← All EEG Flashcard Decks

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. Which EEG feature is the hallmark of Stage N2 sleep?

    Answer: Sleep spindles and K-complexes

    Stage N2 sleep is defined by the presence of sleep spindles (12–14 Hz bursts) and K-complexes on EEG.

  2. What percentage of total sleep time must be occupied by high-amplitude delta activity to score Stage N3?

    Answer: 30% or more

    AASM scoring criteria require that delta waves (0.5–2 Hz, >75 µV) occupy 20% or more of the epoch to score N3, though older criteria used 20% for N3 staging; current AASM requires >20% per epoch.

  3. Sawtooth waves during REM sleep are best described as:

    Answer: Sharply notched 2–6 Hz theta waves maximal over central regions

    Sawtooth waves are notched, sharply contoured theta-range (2–6 Hz) waves seen over central leads during REM sleep.

  4. Which sleep stage is characterized by a low-amplitude, mixed-frequency EEG without sleep spindles, K-complexes, or delta waves?

    Answer: N1

    N1 is the lightest NREM stage showing low-voltage, mixed-frequency activity and vertex sharp waves, but lacking spindles and K-complexes.

  5. Vertex sharp waves (V-waves) are most prominent during which sleep stage?

    Answer: N1

    Vertex sharp waves are surface-negative transients maximal at Cz that appear during N1 sleep as a normal feature.

  6. Muscle atonia on polysomnography is a defining feature of which stage?

    Answer: REM sleep

    REM sleep is characterized by active dreaming paired with near-complete skeletal muscle atonia, preventing dream enactment.