Sleep deprivation (SD) has been shown to have a negative impact on alertness, as evidenced by behavioral and electroencephalographic studies. Nevertheless, conventional fixed-bandwidth spectral analysis confused the aperiodic and periodic components, and ignored some important periodic parameters (i.e., center frequency, bandwidth). Here, based on a large open access dataset of SD, we employed a standardized process for multiple electrode analysis and group inference. We found that, compared to SC, the aperiodic offset shifted overall after SD, primarily in the occipital region. And this shift was associated with a reduction in subjective alertness. For periodic component, we did not found any power change in alpha rhythm, but there is an increase in bandwidth of alpha. And the increased regions distributed in the occipital and temporal lobes. These findings highlight the potential significance and value of aperiodic parameters in behavioral and electrophysiological researches.
Keywords: alpha rhythm; aperiodic activity; electroencephalography; sleep deprivation; sleepiness.