The frequency-amplitude gradient in the sleep EEG of children and its diagnostic significance

objective: 1014 eegs of children in the 3-months to 12-years age group were obtained during sleep with the purpose of assessing the frequency and amplitude gradient (fag) its absence thought to be an indicator of neurological disorder. method: fag findings were divided into present/absent. the neurological findings were classified according to the presence (abnormal neurological finding-anf) or absence (normal neurological finding-nnf) of neurological disorder. the association and significance between fag and neurological findings was determined by prevalence ration (pr) and chi-square test (c2). results: fag showed a characteristic distributions of voltage output during non-rem sleep, stage ii, in the 3-months to 5-years age group with nnf. the pr and the c2 test demonstrated a strong association between fag absent and anf. conclusion: fag is an age-dependent eeg sleep parameter and absence of fag in the 3-months to 5-years age group is highly suggestive of neurological disorder.