Introduction- Multiple investigations conducted on individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have documented a significant decrease in sleep spindle activity. In order to examine the potential connection between the decrease in sleep patterns and the genetic susceptibility to the illness, this study was conducted to compare the sleep spindles and slow waves in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the ICD-10 DCR criteria. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the relationship between these sleep patterns and cognitive functioning, and to compare them with healthy first degree relatives and healthy controls. Material and methods- The present hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among 30 cases of schizophrenia, 30 first degree healthy relatives and 30 healthy controls at Indoor and out-patient department of Institute of Psychiatry, IPGME&R, Kolkata for a duration of one year from April 2019 to April 2020. All the cases and controls were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cases and controls were analyzed on the basis of various tools and parameters and results were analyzed using SPSS verison 25.0 Results – The mean age of cases and controls was between 30 to 40 years with male dominating female patients. The PANSS score in Schizophrenia patient of mean negative and positive score is 20.8 & 18.9 respectively. Statistically significant differences were found in mean values of Total Sleep Time (in min ), NREM, N2, N3 and sleep density among the three groups(p<0.01). Conclusion- Patients with schizophrenia and healthy first-degree relatives exhibited a decrease in fast spindle density compared to healthy volunteers, which aligns with the presumed genetic predisposition for schizophrenia. The observed reduction in spindle density was predominantly observed in rapid spindles and was found to be correlated with a decline in memory performance.

Multiple investigations conducted on individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have documented a significant decrease in sleep spindle activity.