Ricerc@Sapienza

Only a few studies focused on NREM sleep EEG features in RBD (Ferini-Strambi et al., 2019). However, recent findings underlined the importance of NREM sleep in protecting aging brain from degeneration and cognitive decline (Cordone et al., 2019), with a specific focus on slow wave sleep (SWS) in counteracting accumulation of beta-amyloid (Xie et al., 2013). Importantly, recent studies on neurodegeneration (De Gennaro et al., 2017; Reda et al., 2017) focused on a EEG hallmark of NREM sleep, the K-complex (KC) that can be considered a forerunner of SWS (De Gennaro et al., 2000). Interestingly, when compared to healthy controls (HC), patients with Alzheimer’s Disease have shown a decreased KC density, that was more sensitive in differentiating patients from HC compared to Slow Wave Activity (SWA) (De Gennaro et al., 2017). In this view, the KC and EEG topography during sleep may represent a potential electrophysiological marker for neurodegeneration.