Sleep quality and its association with the insular cortex in emotional empathy

Longitudinal associations between Big Five personality and insomnia: evidence based on a 4-year perspective cohort study among community residents

Introduction

While the association between personality traits and insomnia has been confirmed, the longitudinal relationship between them remains unclear.

Methods

This is a 4-year longitudinal cohort study conducted among rural community residents (N = 482) in Shandong Province, China.

Results

This study found that neuroticism (β = 0.175, p < 0.001), extraversion (β = -0.146, p < 0.001), and conscientiousness (β = -0.168, p < 0.001) at baseline had statistically significant longitudinal associations with insomnia at follow-up. In addition, insomnia at baseline had statistically significant longitudinal correlations with neuroticism (β = 0.142, p < 0.01), extraversion (β = -0.209, p < 0.001), and agreeableness (β = -0.122, p < 0.01) at follow-up.

Discussion

This study showed that both neuroticism and extraversion had a bidirectional relationship with insomnia. Insomnia had a one - way longitudinal correlation with agreeableness, and conscientiousness had a one - way longitudinal correlation with insomnia. The longitudinal correlation between openness and insomnia was not supported in this study.

Examination of the relationship between the empathic tendencies and sleep quality of caregivers of cancer patients

PURPOSE

The present study aims to reveal the relationship between the empathic tendencies and sleep quality of caregivers of cancer patients.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

This cross-sectional study was conducted with caregivers of cancer patients registered in the oncology unit of a hospital between May and July 2024 (n = 346). The study data were collected using a sociodemographic information form, the Empathic Tendency Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression analyses as well as descriptive statistics.

FINDINGS

59.5% of the participants were female and 88.2% lived with patients. 62.7% of the cancer patients were male and 61.1% were partially dependent in daily life activities. The caregivers had a mean total score of 70.58 ± 16.85 on the Empathic Tendency Scale and a mean total score of 4.40 ± 3.94 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. It was found that there was a negative, strong, and statistically significant relationship between the mean total scores on the Empathic Tendency Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (r = - 0.924; p < 0.001). According to the hierarchical regression model, certain sociodemographic features of the caregivers explained the variance in empathic tendency (Adj. R2 = 0.607; p < 0.001), whereas when sleep quality components were added to the model, the variance in empathic tendency was explained (Adj. R2 = 0.896; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The caregivers of cancer patients were found to have high empathic tendencies, which was associated with high sleep quality. Furthermore, low empathic tendencies among the caregivers were found to be primarily associated with increasing length of care and advancing patient age. The findings underscore the pivotal role that empathic approaches play in enhancing the quality of care, underscoring the necessity for augmented interventions that prioritize a compassionate approach, and the management of empathy in caregivers of cancer patients.

Sleep and Socioemotional Outcomes Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study

Sexual and gender minority adolescents face specific stressors associated with their minority status, leading to compromised socioemotional outcomes and sleep. Sleep patterns have, in turn, been found to predict socioemotional outcomes. As such, we aimed to investigate whether healthy sleep patterns prospectively predicted socioemotional outcomes, and whether associations varied as a function of sexual and gender minority status. We conducted a secondary data analysis among adolescents at age 14 to 17, from a nationally representative prospective cohort in the United Kingdom (N = 8923, mean age = 13.8), with 7021 cisgender heterosexual, 1801 sexual minority, and 101 gender minority adolescents. Indicators of socioemotional outcomes included self-esteem, emotional well-being, peer relationships, and relationship with parents. The results showed that gender minority adolescents reported the worst sleep patterns and socioemotional outcomes, followed by sexual minority and cisgender heterosexual adolescents. Results from multi-group path analyses showed that emotional well-being, self-esteem, and peer relationships at age 17 were prospectively predicted by sleep patterns and the associations were moderated by sexual and gender minority status. Influence of sleep patterns, particularly sleep initiation problems and frequent awakening, on socioemotional outcomes was greater among gender minority adolescents, when compared to cisgender heterosexual adolescents. In conclusion, positive socioemotional outcomes were predicted by healthy sleep patterns. The potential role of sleep health in optimizing socioemotional outcomes among sexual and gender minority adolescents might warrant further investigation in prevention or intervention studies.

Alexithymia is associated with insomnia in Chinese patients with schizophrenia

Background

Sleep disorders are prevalent among patients with schizophrenia and are associated with several negative consequences. Although, researchers have recently suggested that sleep disorders have a close correlation with alexithymia, and schizophrenia also has a strong correlation with alexithymia, there have been few studies on the relationships between schizophrenia, sleep disorders and alexithymia. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the relationships between psychiatric symptoms, alexithymia and sleep problems in patients with schizophrenia so as to provide a reference for the clinical treatment of this comorbidity.

Methods

In total, 977 patients with schizophrenia were recruited for this study. The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was used to assess sleep disorders, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were used to evaluate clinical symptoms, cognitive functions and the ability to express emotion, respectively.

Results

The results indicated that the PANSS subscales (G-subscore) and TAS group were risk factors for insomnia in schizophrenia patients (all p < 0.05). The mediation model showed the standardized path coefficients from schizophrenia to alexithymia (β = 0.104, p < 0.001) and from alexithymia to insomnia (β = 0.038, p < 0.001) were statistically significant.

Conclusion

The results of this study indicated that alexithymia is associated with sleep disturbance in patients with schizophrenia. These findings may provide a new avenue for the treatment of schizophrenia patients with sleep disorders.

The left temporal transverse cortex is affected by poor sleep quality, which in turn contributes to depressive symptoms in older adults

Sleep quality is critical for improving mental health among older adults. Despite this, there is a dearth of studies examining the correlation between sleep quality and emotional symptoms in the elderly population of China. This study included 496 community elders aged 55 years and older. The participants were divided into two groups based on their scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), with 249 being classified as poor sleepers and 247 as good sleepers. All participants were asked to fill out a uniform survey which included details about their demographics, daily habits, and any illnesses they were dealing with. The Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were employed to measure their levels of anxiety and depression, respectively. In addition, 50 healthy individuals also agreed to brain MR imaging. The finding of our study indicated that those with inadequate sleep had higher levels of depression and anxiety, and the overall anxiety and depression score was linked to the total PSQI score in a positive manner; The MRI subgroup analysis revealed that those with inadequate sleep quality had a greater thickness of the left transverse temporal gyrus (p < 0.05). In addition, a Linear regression analysis of the mediation model showed that poor sleep quality would result in higher scores on the GDS, and cortical thickness in the left transverse temporal gyrus played a fully mediated role in this process. Our research indicates that elderly people in community who have difficulty sleeping may be more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, and this lack of sleep can result in depressive symptoms due to its impact on the thickness of the left transverse temporal cortex.

What Happens on Call Doesn't Stay on Call. The Effects of In-house Call on Acute Care Surgeons' Sleep and Burnout: Results of the Surgeon Performance (SuPer) Trial

OBJECTIVE

We sought to quantify the effects of in-house call(IHC) on sleep patterns and burnout among acute care surgeons (ACS).

BACKGROUND

Many ACS take INC, which leads to disrupted sleep and high levels of stress and burnout.

METHODS

Physiological and survey data of 224 ACS with IHC were collected over 6 months. Participants continuously wore a physiological tracking device and responded to daily electronic surveys. Daily surveys captured work and life events as well as feelings of restfulness and burnout. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was administered at the beginning and end of the study period.

RESULTS

Physiological data were recorded for 34,135 days, which includes 4389 nights of IHC. Feelings of moderate, very, or extreme burnout occurred 25.7% of days and feelings of being moderately, slightly, or not at all rested occurred 75.91% of days. Decreased amount of time since the last IHC, reduced sleep duration, being on call, and having a bad outcome all contribute to greater feelings of daily burnout ( P <0.001). Decreased time since last call also exacerbates the negative effect of IHC on burnout ( P <0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

ACS exhibit lower quality and reduced amount of sleep compared with an age-matched population. Furthermore, reduced sleep and decreased time since the last call led to increased feelings of daily burnout, accumulating in emotional exhaustion as measured on the MBI. A reevaluation of IHC requirements and patterns as well as identification of countermeasures to restore homeostatic wellness in ACS is essential to protect and optimize our workforce.

Neuro-Navigated rTMS Improves Sleep and Cognitive Impairment via Regulating Sleep-Related Networks' Spontaneous Activity in AD Spectrum Patients

Study Objectives

By examining spontaneous activity changes of sleep-related networks in patients with the Alzheimer's disease (AD) spectrum with or without insomnia disorder (ID) over time via neuro-navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), we revealed the effect and mechanism of rTMS targeting the left-angular gyrus in improving the comorbidity symptoms of the AD spectrum with ID.

Methods

A total of 34 AD spectrum patients were recruited in this study, including 18 patients with ID and the remaining 16 patients without ID. All of them were measured for cognitive function and sleep by using the cognitive and sleep subscales of the neuropsychiatric inventory. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation changes in sleep-related networks was revealed before and after neuro-navigated rTMS treatment between these two groups, and the behavioral significance was further explored.

Results

Affective auditory processing and sensory-motor collaborative sleep-related networks with hypo-spontaneous activity were observed at baseline in the AD spectrum with ID group, while substantial increases in activity were evident at follow-up in these subjects. In addition, longitudinal affective auditory processing, sensory-motor and default mode collaborative sleep-related networks with hyper-spontaneous activity were also revealed at follow-up in the AD spectrum with ID group. In particular, longitudinal changes in sleep-related networks were associated with improvements in sleep quality and episodic memory scores in AD spectrum with ID patients.

Conclusion

We speculated that left angular gyrus-navigated rTMS therapy may enhance the memory function of AD spectrum patients by regulating the spontaneous activity of sleep-related networks, and it was associated with memory consolidation in the hippocampus-cortical circuit during sleep.

Clinical Trial Registration

The study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, registration ID: ChiCTR2100050496, China.

Genotype-genotype interactions of the OXTR gene polymorphisms are associated with self-reported daytime dysfunction, sleep latency and personal distress

The oxytocin receptors located in the corticotropin-releasing factor neurons of the paraventricular nucleus are stimulated by oxytocin. Oxytocin functions as the regulator of the corticotropin-releasing factor system and in turn promotes sleep quality. The objective of this study was to examine the main and genotype-genotype interactive effects of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms on sleep quality. A total of 324 participants were randomly recruited from a university in Beijing, China. Sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms (rs2254298, rs2268498, rs13316193, rs2268490 and rs2268491) were genotyped. The results showed that gender and age were associated with various empathy traits (all p < 0.001). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was positively correlated with the Personal Distress subscale of empathy (p < 0.001). Both rs2254298 and rs2268491 interacted with rs13316193 to influence daytime dysfunction and Personal Distress (all p < 0.05), indicating that in individuals with rs13316193 CC/CT genotype, those with rs2254298 AA/AG or rs2268491 TT/TC genotypes displayed higher daytime dysfunction and Personal Distress scores than those with rs2254298 GG or rs2268491 CC genotypes. Conversely, among the individuals with rs2254298 GG or rs2268491 CC genotypes, the rs13316193 C allele carriers had lower daytime dysfunction and Personal Distress scores than rs13316193 TT homozygotes. There was also a significant interaction between rs2268490 and rs2268498 on the sleep latency dimension of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Our findings reveal for the first time the genotype-genotype interactions of the OXTR gene on sleep quality, which may open new research avenues for studying psychopathology involving sleep problems.

Associations between compassion fatigue, burnout and secondary traumatic stress with lifestyle factors in mental health nurses: A multicenter study from Uganda

PURPOSE

This cross-sectional study aimed (a) to explore levels of compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and symptoms of burnout among Ugandan mental health nurses working in regional referral hospitals in Uganda during the Covid-19 pandemic, and (b) to investigate associations between compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and symptoms of burnout and sedentary levels, physical activity (PA) levels, sleep quality, and harmful drinking.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In total 108 mental health nurses from 8 regional referral hospitals across Uganda (age = 34.8 ± 10.0 years; 55.6 % female) completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale-5, (PQoLS-5), the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire (SIMPAQ), Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test - Concise (AUDIT-C). Spearman Rho correlations and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied.

RESULTS

ProQOL-5 compassion satisfaction correlated significantly with SIMPAQ walking, PSQI and AUDIT-C, ProQOL-5 burnout with SIMPAQ exercise and PSQI and ProQOL-5 traumatic with SIMPAQ walking and PSQI. Mental health nurses meeting PA guidelines reported higher ProQOL-5 compassion satisfaction and lower ProQOL-5 burnout and traumatic stress than those who did not. Those who reported a poor sleep quality reported significantly less ProQOL-5 compassion satisfaction and higher ProQOL-5 burnout than those who did not. Those who reported harmful drinking patterns reported a significantly lower compassion satisfaction versus those who did not.

DISCUSSION

In mental health nurses, a lower professional quality of life is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. The effectiveness and efficacy of resilience and self-care programs for mental health nurses focusing on unhealthy lifestyle patterns should be explored.

The Cognitive, Affective and Somatic Empathy Scales for Adults

The Cognitive, Affective and Somatic Empathy Scales (CASES) assess three forms of empathy, each with subscales for positive and negative empathy. The present study extends this child instrument to adults and examines its factor structure and construct validity. A secondary aim is to investigate the under-researched area of positive empathy. Community samples totaling 2,604 adults completed the CASES for adults, together with scales assessing construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor cognitive-affective-somatic model and a two-factor positive-negative empathy model. Findings were replicated in a second independent sample. Internal reliabilities ranged from .80 to .92. Individuals with higher psychopathy and stimulation-seeking scores were less impaired in their empathic reactions to positive relative to negative valence events, suggesting that they are relatively capable of responding emotionally to rewarding events. Somatic empathy was most strongly associated with pleasure in affective touch and with female > male gender differences. While proactive aggression was associated with reduced cognitive and affective empathy, reactive aggression was associated with increased empathy. Findings provide initial support for the utility of CASES for assessing different forms of empathy and suggest that the balance between positive and negative empathy could provide new insights into psychological traits.

The association between sleep and empathy in young preschoolers: A population study

Sleep is vital for children's early socio-emotional development, particularly empathy. This study aimed to explore the associations between sleep and empathy in young preschoolers. A sample of 23,259 preschoolers (4.3 ± 0.3 years) at the entry year of preschool was recruited as part of the Shanghai Children's Health, Education and Lifestyle Evaluation-Preschool (SCHEDULE-P) study. Caregivers reported on child sleep, affective empathy, and cognitive empathy through the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and the Griffith Empathy Measure. Ordinary least-square regression and quantile regression were performed for the associations between sleep and empathy. Sex differences were also investigated. Night sleep duration was negatively associated with affective empathy (β = -0.35, p < 0.001), and positively associated with cognitive empathy (β = 0.41, p < 0.001). Longer nap duration was associated with higher affective empathy (β = 0.28, p < 0.001). Sleep disturbances were positively associated with affective empathy (β = 0.04, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with cognitive empathy (β = -0.09, p < 0.001). These associations were generally stronger in children at higher empathy quantiles and also those at the 10^th cognitive empathy quantile. The associations between sleep and affective empathy were mainly contributed by girls, and were more common in boys in terms of cognitive empathy, particularly at the 10^th and the 30^th quantiles. In conclusion, longer night sleep duration and fewer sleep disturbances are associated with a more mature empathy pattern in young preschoolers. The associations are more prominent in children at the higher end of the empathy spectrum, and vary by sex. These findings highlight the importance to promote sleep health in young children for optimal socio-emotional development.

Sleep Quality, Empathy, and Mood During the Isolation Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Canadian Population: Females and Women Suffered the Most

Objective: To investigate the sex and gender differences in the impact of the isolation period implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals' sleep quality, empathy, and mood.

Design: Data were collected between March 23 and June 7, 2020 on a sample of volunteers in the Canadian population. Six hundred and thirty-eight volunteers completed an online survey (~30 min).

Main Outcome and Measures: We first examined biological sex, gender, and sexual identity differences (both components of the ampler concept of gender) in sleep, empathy, and mood disturbances. Then, we assessed changes in sleep and mood over the course of the isolation period and tested for significant relationships between sleep variables, mood, and empathy.

Results: We analyzed complete data for 573 participants (112 males and 459 females, 2 undisclosed, mean ± SD age = 25.9 ± 10.5 years, mean ± SD education = 16.2 ± 2.9 years). As compared to males, female participants reported lower quality of sleep, lower sleep efficiency, and greater symptoms of insomnia, anxiety, depression, and trauma. In addition, females reported higher scores than males on the IRI empathy scale and all its subcomponents. Similar results were found when stratifying by gender. Sleep and mood disturbances increased over the course of the isolation period in the whole sample. The most significant predictors of poor quality of sleep and insomnia were depression, anxiety, and trauma scores, especially in females; higher empathy trait was associated with higher depression, anxiety, and trauma scores, perhaps indicating a more positive role of fear and anxiety responses to the pandemic crisis.

Significance and Conclusions: Sex and gender differences seem to play a role in the individuals' psychological and behavioral reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. These differences need to be considered in planning targeted psychological interventions.

Insular functional organization during handgrip in females and males with obstructive sleep apnea

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Brain regulation of autonomic function in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is disrupted in a sex-specific manner, including in the insula, which may contribute to several comorbidities. The insular gyri have anatomically distinct functions with respect to autonomic nervous system regulation; yet, OSA exerts little effect on the organization of insular gyral responses to sympathetic components of an autonomic challenge, the Valsalva. We further assessed neural responses of insular gyri in people with OSA to a static handgrip task, which principally involves parasympathetic withdrawal.

METHODS

We measured insular function with blood oxygen level dependent functional MRI. We studied 48 newly-diagnosed OSA (age mean±std:46.5±9 years; AHI±std:32.6±21.1 events/hour; 36 male) and 63 healthy (47.2±8.8 years;40 male) participants. Subjects performed four 16s handgrips (1 min intervals, 80% subjective maximum strength) during scanning. fMRI time trends from five insular gyri-anterior short (ASG); mid short (MSG); posterior short (PSG); anterior long (ALG); and posterior long (PLG)-were assessed for within-group responses and between-group differences with repeated measures ANOVA (p<0.05) in combined and separate female-male models; age and resting heart-rate (HR) influences were also assessed.

RESULTS

Females showed greater right anterior dominance at the ASG, but no differences emerged between OSA and controls in relation to functional organization of the insula in response to handgrip. Males showed greater left anterior dominance at the ASG, but there were also no differences between OSA and controls. The males showed a group difference between OSA and controls only in the ALG. OSA males had lower left activation at the ALG compared to control males. Responses were mostly influenced by HR and age; however, age did not impact the response for right anterior dominance in females.

CONCLUSIONS

Insular gyri functional responses to handgrip differ in OSA vs controls in a sex-based manner, but only in laterality of one gyrus, suggesting anterior and right-side insular dominance during sympathetic activation but parasympathetic withdrawal is largely intact, despite morphologic injury to the overall structure.

Contribution of sleep disturbances to the heterogeneity of cognitive and brain alterations in alcohol use disorder

Cognitive and brain alterations are common in alcohol use disorder and vary importantly from one patient to another. Sleep disturbances are also very frequent in these patients and remain largely neglected even though they can persist after drinking cessation. Sleep disturbances may be the consequence of specific brain alterations, resulting in cognitive impairments. But sleep disruption may also exacerbate alcohol-related brain abnormalities and cognitive deficits through common pathophysiological mechanisms. Besides, sleep disturbances seem a vulnerability factor for the development of alcohol use disorder. From a clinical perspective, sleep disturbances are known to affect treatment outcome and to increase the risk of relapse. In this article, we conducted a narrative review to provide a better understanding of the relationships between sleep disturbances, brain and cognition in alcohol use disorder. We suggest that the heterogeneity of brain and cognitive alterations observed in patients with alcohol use disorder could at least partially be explained by associated sleep disturbances. We also believe that sleep disruption could indirectly favor relapse by exacerbating neuropsychological impairments required in psychosocial treatment and for the maintenance of abstinence. Implications for clinical practice as well as perspectives for future research are proposed.

Burnout in university faculty: An interaction between subjective sleep quality and the OXTR rs2268498 polymorphism

BACKGROUND

Job burnout is a stress-related syndrome influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Poor sleep quality acting as a stressor may lead to job burnout. The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) related to stress reactivity may also exert an effect on job burnout. We aimed to explore the effect of sleep quality, a functional OXTR rs2268498 polymorphism, and their interaction on job burnout in the Chinese population, which has not been explored yet.

METHODS

A preliminary study was performed using a cross-sectional design. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Malash Burnout Inventory (MBI) were measured from 575 healthy subjects. The OXTR rs2468498 polymorphism was genotyped in 376 subjects.

RESULTS

There were significant main effects of sleep quality (p<0.05), but not of the OXTR rs2468498 genotype on burnout. Interestingly, the interaction between sleep quality and the rs2468498 genotype was significant (p<0.05). In the poor sleep group, the C allele (C/C and T/C) carriers showed higher Emotional Exhaustion level than T homozygotes, while in the good sleep group, the C allele carrier showed a lower Emotional Exhaustion level.

LIMITATIONS

This study covered subjects from only one university and the sample size for genotyping was relatively small. As we analyzed only the OXTR rs2268498 polymorphism, this study could not reveal the effects of the cerebrospinal oxytocin concentration and the haplotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that the OXTR polymorphism modulates the influence of subjective sleep quality on burnout. We conclude that the C allele of the OXTR rs2468498 polymorphism plays a susceptible role in job burnout.

Considering the relationship between sleep and empathy and compassion in mental health nurses: It's time

Sleep plays a critical role in overall health, well-being, and daytime functioning. Provision of 24-hour care means that nurses undertake shift work and therefore have been found to commonly not get the recommended amount of sleep, resulting in sleep deprivation. Research to date has focused on how sleep deprivation impacts their cognitive performance (e.g., reaction time, memory consolidation); however, less considered is how nurses' sleep impacts on their ability to understand and provide emotional care to consumers. In this paper, we examine how sleep may influence nurses' ability to empathize and provide compassionate care, both of which are fundamental aspects of their work. We begin by considering the unique challenges nurses face as shift workers and the impact of sleep on physical and psychological functioning. We examine how empathy and compassion drive nurses' attempts to understand consumers' perspectives and experiences and motivate them to want to help those in their care. Work directly investigating the relationship between sleep and these processes indicates emotional recognition and experience are hampered by poor sleep, with greater compassion towards oneself or from others associated with better sleep. Much of this work has, however, been conducted outside of the nursing or health professional space. We discuss issues that need to be addressed in order to move understanding forward regarding how sleep impacts on mental health nurses' empathy and compassion, as well as how an understanding of the sleep-empathy/compassion link should be an important priority for nurse education and well-being.

What Is the Link Between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Sleep Disturbance? A Multimodal Examination of Longitudinal Relationships and Brain Structure Using Large-Scale Population-Based Cohorts

BACKGROUND

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comorbid with sleep disturbances can produce profound disruption in daily life and negatively impact quality of life of both the child and the family. However, the temporal relationship between ADHD and sleep impairment is unclear, as are underlying common brain mechanisms.

METHODS

This study used data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (n = 1601, 52% female) and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (n = 3515, 48% female). Longitudinal relationships between symptoms were examined using cross-lagged panel models. Gray matter volume neural correlates were identified using linear regression. The transcriptomic signature of the identified brain-ADHD-sleep relationship was characterized by gene enrichment analysis. Confounding factors, such as stimulant drugs for ADHD and socioeconomic status, were controlled for.

RESULTS

ADHD symptoms contributed to sleep disturbances at one or more subsequent time points in both cohorts. Lower gray matter volumes in the middle frontal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus, amygdala, striatum, and insula were associated with both ADHD symptoms and sleep disturbances. ADHD symptoms significantly mediated the link between these structural brain abnormalities and sleep dysregulation, and genes were differentially expressed in the implicated brain regions, including those involved in neurotransmission and circadian entrainment.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that ADHD symptoms and sleep disturbances have common neural correlates, including structural changes of the ventral attention system and frontostriatal circuitry. Leveraging data from large datasets, these results offer new mechanistic insights into this clinically important relationship between ADHD and sleep impairment, with potential implications for neurobiological models and future therapeutic directions.

High School Student Burnout: Is Empathy a Protective or Risk Factor?

Students’ school burnout has been extensively investigated in relation to interpersonal factors such as peer relations and social adjustment. However, few studies have examined the role of individual traits such as empathic skills. Our aim in this study was to test, within a single comprehensive model, how students’ empathic skills affect their levels of school burnout, both directly and indirectly via satisfaction with school relationships. A sample of 998 high school students (aged 14 to 19 years) took part in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed quantitative self-report measures of school burnout, empathic skills (both cognitive and affective), and satisfaction with school relationships (peers and teachers). Using structural equation modeling, we tested a conceptual model in which emphatic skills were hierarchically associated with satisfaction about school relationships and school burnout, while also controlling for age. The structural equation model offered an excellent fit for the empirical data. Analysis of the total, direct, and indirect effects showed that empathic skills were associated with both satisfaction about school relationships and school burnout. Satisfaction with school relationships appeared to mediate the relationship between empathy and school burnout. Students’ age was also found to have statistically significant effects. The negative effect of high school students’ empathic skills on their risk of school burnout may be prevented or at least reduced by helping them to develop positive and satisfying relationships with both teachers and peers.

Integrating sleep, neuroimaging, and computational approaches for precision psychiatry

In advancing precision psychiatry, we focus on what imaging technology and computational approaches offer for the future of diagnostic subtyping and personalized tailoring of interventions for sleep impairment in mood and anxiety disorders. Current diagnostic criteria for mood and anxiety tend to lump different forms of sleep disturbance together. Parsing the biological features of sleep impairment and brain circuit dysfunction is one approach to identifying subtypes within these disorders that are mechanistically coherent and offer targets for intervention. We focus on two large-scale neural circuits implicated in sleep impairment and in mood and anxiety disorders: the default mode network and negative affective network. Through a synthesis of existing knowledge about these networks, we pose a testable framework for understanding how hyper- versus hypo-engagement of these networks may underlie distinct features of mood and sleep impairment. Within this framework we consider whether poor sleep quality may have an explanatory role in previously observed associations between network dysfunction and mood symptoms. We expand this framework to future directions including the potential for connecting circuit-defined subtypes to more distal features derived from digital phenotyping and wearable technologies, and how new discovery may be advanced through machine learning approaches.