Impairments in Attention in Occasionally Snoring Children: An Event-Related Potential Study

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether minimal snoring is benign in children. Procedure: 22 rarely snoring children (mean age = 6.9 years, 11 females) and age- and sex-matched controls participated in an auditory oddball task wearing 128-electrode nets. Parents completed the Conners Parent Rating Scales–Revised Long (CPRS–R:L). Results: Snorers scored significantly higher on four CPRS-R:L subscales. Stepwise regression indicated that two ERP variables from a region of the ERP that peaked at 844 msec post-stimulus onset predicted CPRS-R:L Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Index scores. Conclusions: Occasional snorers, according to parental report, do exhibit ADHD-like behaviors. Basic sensory processing is longer than in controls, suggesting that delayed frontal activation requires more effort in snorers.

Notes

Research was supported by a dissertation research award from the American Psychological Association; a fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health (F30MH79531), and the following grants from the National Institutes of Health: R01HL070911, RO1HL65270, R01DC005994, and R41HD47083. The experiments described herein were conducted as part of a larger, federally funded research study. Portions of this article have been presented in poster format at a national scientific conference.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.