Does sleep EEG provide evidence that cortical changes persist into late adolescence?
Using longitudinal data, we show that the developmental changes to the sleeping EEG that begin in early adolescence continue into late adolescence. As with early adolescents, we observed hemispheric asymmetry in the decline of sleep EEG power. This decline was state and frequency nonspecific, suggesting that it may be due to the pruning of synapses known to occur during adolescence.
Further studies analyzing ALK-1 gene mutation and rearrangements are required to determine pathogenetic role, if any, in CNS IMFTs.