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Objective The lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact on daily habits, emotional experience, mental health and sleep. A large body of evidence suggests that dreams are affected by both waking experiences and sleep pattern. In this view, the lockdown should have induced intense modifications in dreaming activity. The aim of the study was to assess dream features during the lockdown in Italy. Methods We used an online survey to collect self-reported demographic, clinical, sleep and dream data. Our sample included 1091 participants. Results Results point to an increased dream frequency, emotional load, vividness, bizarreness and length during the lockdown, compared to a pre-lockdown period. Higher dream frequency and specific qualitative features were found in females and subjects with poor sleep quality, nocturnal disruptive behaviours and depressive symptoms. Most of the dream features assessed during the lockdown were predicted by age, gender, depressive symptoms, presence/absence of other people at home, and territorial area. A specific focus on sleep features revealed that sleep duration and several sleep quality indexes were the best predictors of dream variables. During the lockdown, dreams were also characterized by increased negative emotions, which were particularly frequent in females, younger adults, and participants with poor sleep quality, nocturnal disruptive behaviours, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Conclusions Our results confirm the hypothesis of a strong influence of the pandemic on dreaming, supporting both the hypothesis of continuity between wake and sleep mental processes and the view of a crucial influence of sleep quality and duration on dreaming activity.

This study tested a simple statistical procedure to recognize single treatment-naïve HIV individuals having abnormal cortical sources of resting state delta (4 Hz) and alpha (8-13 Hz) electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms with reference to a control group of sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy individuals. Compared to the HIV individuals with a statistically normal EEG marker, those with abnormal values were expected to show worse cognitive status.Resting state eyes-closed EEG data were recorded in 82 treatment-naïve HIV (39.8 ys.±1.2 standard error mean, SE) and 59 age-matched cognitively healthy subjects (39 ys.±2.2 SE). Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) estimated delta and alpha sources in frontal, central, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortical regions.Ratio of the activity of parietal delta and high-frequency alpha sources (EEG marker) showed the maximum difference between the healthy and the treatment-naïve HIV group. Z-score of the EEG marker was statistically abnormal in 47.6% of treatment-naïve HIV individuals with reference to the healthy group (p0.05). Compared to the HIV individuals with a statistically normal EEG marker, those with abnormal values exhibited lower mini mental state evaluation (MMSE) score, higher CD4 count, and lower viral load (p0.05).This statistical procedure permitted for the first time to identify single treatment-naïve HIV individuals having abnormal EEG activity.This procedure might enrich the detection and monitoring of effects of HIV on brain function in single treatment-naïve HIV individuals.

Aim In the framework of IMI PharmaCog project (Grant Agreement no. 115009), this study evaluated whether abnormal cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms are correlated to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ® amyloid (A®) level in amnesic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) subjects. Methods Artifact-free resting state eyes-closed EEG rhythms (19 electrodes) were recorded. Individual datasets were divided into those with high CSF A® level (81 A®-negative, CSF A ® > 550 pg / ml ) and those with low CSF A® level (46 A®-positive, CSF A ® 550 pg / ml ). Regional normalized cortical sources of EEG rhythms at frequency bands of interest were estimated by LORETA package. ANOVA compared these sources between the two MCI groups ( p Results Statistical results showed: (1) source pattern Nold p r =−0.26; p =0.003) across all MCI subjects. Conclusions These results suggest a relationship between the brain amyloid charge, as revealed by CSF A® level, and pathological delta cortical sources indicating cortical disconnection in amnesic MCI subjects. EEG delta sources could represent a promising early diagnostic marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Background and aim In the framework of IMI PharmaCog project (Grant Agreement n°115009, www.pharmacog.org ), this study evaluated whether cortical sources of resting state EEG rhythms were related to cerebrospinal fluid A®42 level in amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects and have translational value in mouse model of AD. Methods The research data (including human biological samples) were sourced ethically and used in line with international ethical standards. EEG rhythms were recorded in 127 aMCI subjects. Cortical sources of global delta (2–4 Hz) and low-frequency alpha (8–10.5 Hz) EEG rhythms were estimated by LORETA package. Back translation was tested on on-going EEG rhythms in wild type and transgenic mouse models of AD developing accumulation of A®42 in the brain (i.e. PDAPP, TASTPM). Results and conclusions (1) delta (

Aim In the framework of IMI PharmaCog project (Grant Agreement no. 115009), this study evaluated whether cortical sources of AO-ERPs are related to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)® amyloid (A®) level in amnesic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) subjects. Methods Artifact-free AO-ERPs (19 electrodes) were recorded in 115 MCI subjects. Individual datasets were divided into those with high CSF A® level (61 A®-negative, CSF A® > 550 pg/ml) and those with low CSF A® level (43 A®-positive, CSF A® Results The ANOVA for the P3a peak illustrate a statistically significant interaction effect (F = 2.87; p = 0.006) between the factors Group and Brodmann Area (BA 10 and 11). The ANOVA for the P3b peak illustrate a statistically significant interaction effect (F = 2.745; p = 0.008) between the factors Group and BA (BA 5,7,23,31). Conclusions The present study provides support to the hypothesis that specific neurophysiological markers may enrich the discrimination of aMCI subjects in an early stage of prodromal Alzheimer’s disease (AD) for early diagnosis and preventive treatments.

Quantitative analysis of EEG during wakefulness in AD/MCI patients shows a slowing of EEG rhytms, in terms of increase of delta activity and decrease of alpha activity. Some studies show differences in AD/MCI patients even in EEG sleep: an increase in stage 1, number and length of intra-night awakenings, a decrease of Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) and REM sleep. Given the strong relation (bidirectional) between EEG sleep and wakefullness rhythms, the objective of the study is to assess EEG topography during sleep (REM and NREM) and wakefulness, and to assess relationship between sleep EEG modifications and subsequent variations in wakefulness EEG. 8 patients AD, 13 MCI and 9 elderly healthy people performed one-night sleep PSG recordings (19 cortical electrods, EOG, EMG) and wakefulness EEG recordings (5 min with eyes open and 5 min with eyes closed). Analyses of EEG topography of wakefulness, REM and NREM sleep suggest significant differences between MCI groups vs. controls within the alpha band, in terms of lower EEG activity within this frequency range in patients in occipital and temporal derivations compared to controls. Although preliminary, data of EEG topography seems showing the same functional variations both in sleep and wakefulness. Hence, the observed slowing may be an electrophysiological evidence of neurodegenerative processes at a cortical level.