2005/08/01 by Baruch El‐Ad, Peretz Lavie · 4 citations
Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Anesthesia #Anxiety #Audiology #Clinical psychology #Cognition #Continuous positive airway pressure #Hypoxemia #Medicine #Mood #Neuropsychology #Neuroscience #Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research #Obstructive sleep apnea #Psychiatry #Psychology #Sleep and Wakefulness Research #Sleep and related disorders #Vigilance (psychology)
paper · doi:10.1080/09540260500104508
openalex publication_date 2005/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common disorder in adults and children, which is characterized by repetitive transient reversible upper airway obstructions during sleep. Due to disrupted sleep architecture and intermittent hypoxemia, OSAS leads to impaired daytime functioning in various neuropsychological and affective domains. The most common abnormalities are executive dysfunction, impaired vigilance, depression, and possibly anxiety and, in children, hyperactivity. Optimal treatment of OSAS with continuous positive airway pressure may reverse the cognitive and affective dysfunction, however, in some patients a residual impairment persists. This persistent deficit, despite effective treatment, raises the possibility of a remaining subtle structural brain damage; such damage has been demonstrated through the use of sensitive functional and other neuroimaging techniques. Prefrontal cortical damage may underlie the cognitive dysfunction in OSAS. Early recognition and treatment may prevent this untoward effect of OSAS.