Dogs with dementia suffer from sleep deprivation and people with dementia. North Carolina State University researchers used electroencephalography, or EEG, in large dogs to determine whether brain wave readings during sleep are associated with indicators of cognitive decline.
Researcher found that dogs with advanced dementia had more sleep disturbances and slept less than dogs with normal cognitive function. Study involved 28 elderly dogs: 17 females and 11 males. Dogs underwent thorough physical and cognitive testing, and their owners completed the Canine Dementia Scale (CADES) prior to the sleep study to determine the severity of cognitive decline.
Electrodes are attached to the dog’s head with an adhesive gel, and the dog is not anesthetized while the researchers collect data. The dog slept twice in the laboratory: once for exposure to the environment and electrode implantation, and twice to capture brain activity during sleep.
“Sleep studies in dogs have often involved surgically implanted electrodes,” said Alejandra Mondino, a postdoctoral researcher at NC State and lead author of the study. “Non-invasive research is relatively new. We are one of the few groups that do this.”
EEG measures the four stages of sleep: wakefulness, insomnia, NREM, and REM. NREM, or non-REM, is a state of deep sleep that precedes REM (rapid eye movement and is associated with dreaming).
Dog has dementia and sleep disturbances
“In NREM, the brain clears toxins, including beta-amyloid proteins involved in diseases like Alzheimer’s,” said Mondino. “REM sleep is when dreams come true, and this stage is important for memory consolidation.”
The researchers correlated the percentage of time spent in each sleeping position with the dogs’ score and the CADES questionnaire. The higher the dog’s dementia score, the less time it spends in NREM and REM sleep.
“This dog has dementia, and sleep disturbances are part of it,” Mondino said. “In addition to the shorter sleep time, when we looked at the EEG, we found that brain activity during sleep was more similar to wakefulness.
This work is an important part of establishing a basis for diagnosing cognitive decline in dogs. The researchers hope that this work can lead to early diagnosis and intervention in older dogs showing signs of cognitive decline.
EEG signatures are useful predictors of cognitive impairment in humans & this case identifies dogs as a model of Alzheimer’s disease. The treatment trials in dogs will help guide the development of treatments for humans.
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