Disordered descent into sleep: microstructural divergence across arousal-linked conditions
Abstract Sleep onset is an unstable transition whose microstructure may distinguish clinical phenotypes. Using Hori 4-second microstaging in patients with narcolepsy type 1, idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder, NREM parasomnia and an exploratory fibromyalgia cohort, each with matched controls ( n = 48 pairs), we quantified timing, entropy, hemispheric laterality and sequence ordering. Narcolepsy showed compressed, irregular onset, fibromyalgia prolonged divergent onset, and the remaining groups near-normative trajectories, suggesting disorder-specific signatures of arousal instability.
Authors
- Riva Tauman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6574-3601)
- Nazanin Biabani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8432-1310)
- Adam Birdseye
- Ivana Rosenzweig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2152-9694)
- Alexander Nesbitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1979-8003)
- Panagis Drakatos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8298-7878)
- Valentina Gnoni
- Katarina Ilic
- Monica Puligheddu
- Robert Leech
- David O’Regan
- Peter J. Goadsby
Institutions
- St Thomas' Hospital (GB)
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (GB)
- University of Cagliari (IT)
- King's College London (GB)
- Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (IL)
- St. Thomas Hospital (CA)
- European Brain Research Institute (IT)
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
- Wellcome Trust (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Biological Timing and Sleep
- Published
- 2026-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44323-026-00070-8
- Primary Topic
- Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- King's College London
- NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre