The identification of possible mechanisms that might lead to sleep disorders in Down syndrome has been carried out performing the analysis of different models of Down syndrome. Interestingly, convincing studies in these animals indicate that the altered signaling of the GABA neurotransmitter is one of the main factors to reduce cognitive and memory functions. In particular, GABAergic dysfunctions alter synaptic plasticity, learning and memory in Down syndrome by altering the optimal excitatory / inhibitory synaptic balance [1,2,3]. We consider recorded neuronal tissues during REM, non REM sleep and awake using different drugs treatments [4,5]. Our aim is to characterize the complexity of different drug treatments, providing a causal mapping of the dynamical activities of the neuronal tissues. We estimate the intrinsic correlational structure of the signals within the causality entropy-complexity and entropy-fisher information planes using a subtle information theoretical approach accounting for the causality of the signal and the neuronal network [6,7]. Our finding allows us to characterize and differentiate the dynamics of the treatments and might provide some biophysical basis that could be of help to identify the origin of neuronal sleep disorders in Down syndrome.

[1] “Refuting the challenges of the developmental shift of polarity of GABA actions: GABA more exciting than ever!”, Ben-Ari Yehezkel et al. (2012). Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 6.

[2] “Modulation of GABAergic transmission in development and neurodevelopmental disorders: investigating physiology and pathology to gain therapeutic perspectives”, Deidda Gabriele et al. (2014). Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 8, 119.

[3] “A novel unsupervised analysis of electrophysiological signals reveals new sleep substages in mice”, Katsageorgiou VM et al. (2018). PLOS Biology 16(5): e2003663.

[4] “The Zfhx3-Mediated Axis Regulates Sleep and Interval Timing in Mice”,

Edoardo Balzani et al., Cell Reports, Volume 16, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 615-621, ISSN 2211-1247,

[5] “Rhythmic activities of the brain: Quantifying the high complexity of beta and gamma oscillations during visuomotor tasks”, R. Baravalle, O. A. Rosso, and F. Montani (2018). Chaos 28, 075513.