Neu, Daniel, Mairesse, Olivier, Verbanck, Paul et al. · Journal of psychosomatic research · 2014 · DOI
This study compared brain wave patterns during sleep between people with ME/CFS, people with sleep apnea, and healthy controls. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients show a different pattern of brain activity during sleep compared to those with sleep apnea, which may help explain why ME/CFS fatigue doesn't improve with rest like normal sleepiness does.
Understanding how ME/CFS sleep differs at the neurophysiological level is crucial for explaining why rest doesn't relieve fatigue in these patients, unlike in sleep disorders. This work may eventually guide development of targeted sleep interventions and help distinguish ME/CFS from other conditions causing fatigue or sleepiness.
This study does not prove that abnormal EEG patterns cause ME/CFS fatigue, only that they are associated with it. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether the sleep abnormalities precede CFS onset or result from the illness. Findings also do not explain the mechanisms by which these EEG patterns prevent fatigue recovery.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Neu, Daniel, Mairesse, Olivier, Verbanck, Paul, Linkowski, Paul, & Le Bon, Olivier (2014). Non-REM sleep EEG power distribution in fatigue and sleepiness.. Journal of psychosomatic research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2014.02.002
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-neu-2014-non-rem,
author = {Neu, Daniel and Mairesse, Olivier and Verbanck, Paul and Linkowski, Paul and Le Bon, Olivier},
title = {Non-REM sleep EEG power distribution in fatigue and sleepiness.},
journal = {Journal of psychosomatic research},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.jpsychores.2014.02.002},
note = {PubMed: 24630178},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/neu-2014-non-rem},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/neu-2014-non-rem
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