The newborn EEG pattern described as alternating high and low voltage during quiet sleep is called trance alternant.

The newborn EEG pattern described as alternating high and low voltage during quiet sleep is called trance alternant.

• A. Trance alternant
• B. Active sleep
• C. Sawtooth waves
• D. Slow-wave sleep

Answer: (A)

In newborns, quiet sleep shows a distinctive EEG pattern called trance alternant. It consists of alternating blocks of high-amplitude, slow-delta activity with periods of low-voltage, faster activity, giving a back-and-forth “trance” rhythm as the brain cycles between more and less synchronized activity. This pattern is normal for newborns and helps differentiate quiet sleep from other sleep states. Active sleep (REM) features irregular, desynchronized activity with sawtooth waves, not the alternating high and low voltage pattern described here. Sawtooth waves are characteristic of that active sleep state, not quiet sleep. Slow-wave sleep is a deeper non-REM stage with more continuous, high-amplitude delta activity and lacks the characteristic alternation between high and low voltage seen in trance alternant.

In newborns, quiet sleep shows a distinctive EEG pattern called trance alternant. It consists of alternating blocks of high-amplitude, slow-delta activity with periods of low-voltage, faster activity, giving a back-and-forth “trance” rhythm as the brain cycles between more and less synchronized activity. This pattern is normal for newborns and helps differentiate quiet sleep from other sleep states.

Active sleep (REM) features irregular, desynchronized activity with sawtooth waves, not the alternating high and low voltage pattern described here. Sawtooth waves are characteristic of that active sleep state, not quiet sleep. Slow-wave sleep is a deeper non-REM stage with more continuous, high-amplitude delta activity and lacks the characteristic alternation between high and low voltage seen in trance alternant.