Relation of Decreased Functional Connectivity Between Left Thalamus and Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus to Emotion Changes Following Acute Sleep Deprivation

Links between brain structure and function in children with autism spectrum disorder by parallel independent component analysis

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder accompanied by structural and functional changes in the brain. However, the relationship between brain structure and function in children with ASD remains largely obscure. In the current study, parallel independent component analysis (pICA) was performed to identify inter-modality associations by drawing on information from different modalities. Structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 105 children with ASD and 102 typically developing children (obtained from the open-access Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database) were combined through the pICA framework. Features of structural and functional modalities were represented by the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), respectively. The relationship between the structural and functional components derived from the pICA was investigated by Pearson's correlation analysis, and between-group differences in these components were analyzed through the two-sample t-test. Finally, multivariate support vector regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between the structural/functional components and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) subscores in the ASD group. This study found a significant association between VBM and ALFF components in ASD. Significant between-group differences were detected in the loading coefficients of the VBM component. Furthermore, the ALFF component loading coefficients predicted the subscores of communication and repetitive stereotypic behaviors of the ADOS. Likewise, the VBM component loading coefficients predicted the ADOS communication subscore in ASD. These findings provide evidence of a link between brain function and structure, yielding new insights into the neural mechanisms of ASD.

Sleep deprivation alters utilization of negative feedback in risky decision-making

Background

Sleep loss has sometimes catastrophic effects on risky decision-making. However, it is unknown to what extent such deficits are exacerbated with increasing duration of sleep deprivation (SD) and whether sustained vigilant attention mediates this sleep deprivation-induced deficit.

Methods

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of 36 hours of SD on 37 male college students' arousal, emotion, vigilant attention, and risky decision-making, using the Psychomotor Vigilance Test, the Game of Dice Task, and scales assessing fatigue, sleep, and emotions.

Results

Compared to baseline, SD significantly increased sleepiness, fatigue, and negative emotions, decreased positive emotions and vigilant attention, and led to a shift toward risky decision-making, and these effects often appeared 15 or 20 hours after SD. Interestingly, participants' ability to employ positive feedback was maintained, whereas their performance to utilize negative feedback was impaired even after 8 hours of sleep deprivation. Meanwhile, vigilant attention acted as a mediator between SD and risky decision-making (z = -1.97, 95% [-6.00, -0.30]).

Discussion

These results suggest that sleep-deprived individuals are unable to use negative feedback to optimize their judgments, which may account for their poor decision-making under risk.

Preoperative early-stage lung cancer patients and local brain area changes: a cross-sectional observational descriptive study

Introduction

Lung cancer is a major global health concern. Patients undergo a substantial process of emotional transformation following a lung cancer diagnosis, during which subtle changes in brain function and/or structure may occur. As such, the present study aimed to investigate the neuroplastic changes induced by negative emotions in patients with early-stage lung cancer.

Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited 35 patients with early-stage lung cancer and 33 age- and sex-matched healthy control patients. All participants completed the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were used as the fMRI indices. Correlations between the clinical assessments and ALFF and ReHo values were calculated.

Results

Our analysis revealed no significant differences in HAMD and HAMA scores between patients and control patients (p > 0.05). However, significant alterations in ALFF and ReHo were observed in multiple brain regions in patients with early-stage lung cancer compared to healthy controls (P FalseDiscoveryRate < 0.05). Specifically, ALFF values were decreased in the right postcentral gyrus, calcarine, and left middle cingulate, while ReHo values increased in the right angular gyrus and decreased in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, insula, left calcarine, putamen, superior temporal gyrus, middle cingulate, and right Rolandic gyrus. The HAMD score was significantly correlated with the ALFF value in the right postcentral gyrus (P = 0.007).

Conclusion

This study provides valuable insights into the adaptive responses of the brain following the early diagnosis of lung cancer, revealing potential disturbances in negative emotional processing. Harnessing neuroplasticity may open new avenues for the establishment of personalized treatment strategies and targeted interventions to support the emotional and mental health of patients with lung cancer.

Altered Functional Connectivity of the Thalamus Subregions Associated with Impaired Attention After Sleep Deprivation

Objective

The thalamus plays a critical role in attentional maintenance. Previous studies have revealed the dysfunction of the thalamus in attention decline after acute sleep deprivation (SD). However, the functional connectivity (FC) between the thalamus subregions and cortical regions underlying attentional impairment after acute SD remains unclear. Here, we aimed to probe the relationship between attentional function and the altered thalamocortical FC after acute SD.

Methods

In this study, 25 healthy participants with regular sleep conducted an attentional network test and received a resting-state fMRI scan before and after 24 hours of SD. Then, we analyzed the FC between the thalamus and cerebrum and relationships with attentional function in the enrolled subjects.

Results

Our results showed that the participants showed a significantly lower alerting effect, a higher executive effect, and lower accuracy after acute SD. Compared to the rested wakefulness state, we observed decreased FCs between the "somatosensory" thalamic seed and left frontal pole, right frontal pole, left middle temporal gyrus (posterior division), and right middle temporal gyrus (posterior division). Furthermore, the reduced FC between the right middle temporal gyrus and "somatosensory" thalamic seed was negatively associated with the change in orienting effect of the participants.

Conclusion

Our findings reveal that the disrupted FC between thalamus subregions and cortical regions may contribute to impaired attention after SD.

Associations of Nightmares and Sleep Disturbance With Neurobehavioral Symptoms Postconcussion

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the association of nightmares beyond general sleep disturbance on neurobehavioral symptoms in adults with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of a concussion cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred and eleven adults older than 20 years with mTBI were recruited from a specialized concussion treatment center.

MAIN MEASURES

Behavioral Assessment Screening Tool, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and self-report of nightmare frequency in the past 2 weeks.

RESULTS

Among adults with mTBI, nightmares accounted for the greatest amount of variability in negative affect (β = .362, P < .001), anxiety (β = .332, P < .001), and impulsivity (β = .270, P < .001) after adjusting for age and sex. Overall sleep disturbance had the strongest association with depression (β = .493, P < .001), fatigue (β = .449, P < .001), self-reported executive dysfunction (β = .376, P < .001), and overall burden from concussive symptoms (β = .477, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Nightmares and sleep disturbance are differentially associated with variance in neurobehavioral symptoms. Nightmares were independently associated with neurobehavioral symptoms representing an excess of normal functioning (eg, anxiety, impulsivity), while general sleep disturbance was associated with neurobehavioral symptoms representing functioning below normal levels (eg, depression, fatigue, self-reported executive dysfunction). Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Decreased functional concordance in male children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an early-onset neurodevelopmental condition with altered function of the brain. At present, a variety of functional metrics from neuroimaging techniques have been used to explore ASD neurological mechanisms. However, the concordance of these functional metrics in ASD is still unclear. This study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data, which were obtained from the open-access Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database, including 105 children with ASD and 102 demographically matched typically developing (TD) children. Both voxel-wise and volume-wise functional concordance were calculated by combining the dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, dynamic regional homogeneity, and dynamic global signal correlation. Furthermore, a two-sample t-test was performed to compare the functional concordance between ASD and TD groups. Finally, the relationship between voxel-wise functional concordance and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule subscores was analyzed using the multivariate support vector regression in the ASD group. Compared with the TD group, we found that ASD showed decreased voxel-wise functional concordance in the left superior temporal pole (STGp), right amygdala, and left opercular part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFGoper). Moreover, decreased functional concordance was associated with restricted and repetitive behaviors in ASD. Our results found altered brain function in the left STGp, right amygdala, and left IFGoper in ASD by functional concordance, indicating that functional concordance may provide new insights into the neurological mechanisms of ASD.

Altered local and remote functional connectivity in mild Alzheimer's disease patients with sleep disturbances

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate local and remote functional connectivity in mild Alzheimer's disease patients with sleep disturbances (ADSD) and those without sleep disturbances (ADNSD).

Methods

Thirty eight mild AD patients with sleep disturbances and 21 mild AD patients without sleep disturbances participated in this study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological assessments and 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance scanning. Static and dynamic regional homogeneity (ReHo) were used to represent the local functional connectivity. Seed-based whole-brain functional connectivity was used to represent the remote functional connectivity. The seed was chosen based on the results of ReHo.

Results

Compared to ADNSD, ADSD showed decreased static ReHo in the left posterior central gyrus and the right cuneus and increased dynamic ReHo in the left posterior central gyrus. As for the remote functional connectivity, comparing ADSD to ADNSD, it was found that there was a decreased functional connection between the left posterior central gyrus and the left cuneus as well as the left calcarine.

Conclusion

The current study demonstrated that, compared with ADNSD, ADSD is impaired in both local and remote functional connectivity, manifested as reduced functional connectivity involving the primary sensory network and the primary visual network. The abnormality of the above functional connectivity is one of the reasons why sleep disorders promote cognitive impairment in AD. Moreover, sleep disorders change the temporal sequence of AD pathological damage to brain functional networks, but more evidence is needed to support this conclusion.

The Effect of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation on the Recovery of Sleep Quality after Sleep Deprivation Based on an EEG Analysis

Acute sleep deprivation can reduce the cognitive ability and change the emotional state in humans. However, little is known about how brain EEGs and facial expressions change during acute sleep deprivation (SD). Herein, we employed 34 healthy adult male subjects to undergo acute SD for 36 h, during which, their emotional states and brain EEG power were measured. The subjects were divided randomly into electronic stimulation and control groups. We performed TDCS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 2 mA and 30 min in the TDCS group. These results indicated that the proportion of disgusted expressions in the electrical stimulation group was significantly less than the controls after 36 h post-acute SD, while the proportion of neutral expressions was increased post-restorative sleep. Furthermore, the electrical stimulation group presented a more significant impact on slow wave power (theta and delta) than the controls. These findings indicated that emotional changes occurred in the subjects after 36 h post-acute SD, while electrical stimulation could effectively regulate the cortical excitability and excitation inhibition balance after acute SD.

Kullback-Leibler Divergence of Sleep-Wake Patterns Related with Depressive Severity in Patients with Epilepsy

(1) Objective: Whether abnormal sleep-wake rhythms were associated with depressive symptoms in patents with epilepsy had remained unclear. Our study aimed to establish relative entropy for the assessment of sleep-wake patterns and to explore the relationship between this index and the severity of depressive symptoms in patients with epilepsy. (2) Methods: We recorded long-term scalp electroencephalograms (EEGs) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HAMD-17) questionnaire scores from 64 patients with epilepsy. Patients with HAMD-17 scores of 0-7 points were defined as the non-depressive group, while patients with scores of 8 or higher were defined as the depression group. Sleep stages were firstly classified based on EEG data. We then quantified sleep-wake rhythm variations in brain activity using the Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD) of daytime wakefulness and nighttime sleep. The KLD at different frequency bands in each brain region was analyzed between the depression and non-depression groups. (3) Results: Of the 64 patients with epilepsy included in our study, 32 had depressive symptoms. It was found that patients with depression had significantly decreased KLD for high-frequency oscillations in most brain areas, especially the frontal lobe. A detailed analysis was conducted in the right frontal region (F4) because of the significant difference in the high-frequency band. We found that the KLDs at the gamma bands were significantly decreased in the depression groups compared to the non-depression group (KLD_D = 0.35 ± 0.05, KLD_ND = 0.57 ± 0.05, p = 0.009). A negative correlation was displayed between the KLD of gamma band oscillation and HAMD-17 score (r = -0.29, p = 0.02). (4) Conclusions: Sleep-wake rhythms can be assessed using the KLD index calculated from long-term scalp EEGs. Moreover, the KLD of high-frequency bands had a negative correlation with HAMD-17 scores in patients with epilepsy, which indicates a close relationship between abnormal sleep-wake patterns and depressive symptoms in patients with epilepsy.

The Devastating Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Memory: Lessons from Rodent Models

In this narrative review article, we discuss the role of sleep deprivation (SD) in memory processing in rodent models. Numerous studies have examined the effects of SD on memory, with the majority showing that sleep disorders negatively affect memory. Currently, a consensus has not been established on which damage mechanism is the most appropriate. This critical issue in the neuroscience of sleep remains largely unknown. This review article aims to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie the damaging effects of SD on memory. It also proposes a scientific solution that might explain some findings. We have chosen to summarize literature that is both representative and comprehensive, as well as innovative in its approach. We examined the effects of SD on memory, including synaptic plasticity, neuritis, oxidative stress, and neurotransmitters. Results provide valuable insights into the mechanisms by which SD impairs memory function.

Altered isotropic volume fraction in gray matter after sleep deprivation and its association with visuospatial memory: A neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging study

Background and aims

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) studies have revealed microstructural abnormalities in white matter resulting from sleep deprivation (SD). This study aimed to adopt neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to investigate the effect of SD on gray matter (GM) microstructural properties and its association to visuospatial memory (VSM).

Methods

Twenty-four healthy women underwent two sessions of dMRI scanning and visuospatial ability assessment by Complex Figure Test (CFT), once during rested wakefulness (RW) and once after 24 h of SD. We calculated NODDI metrics, including intracellular volume fraction (ICVF), orientation dispersion index (ODI), and isotropic volume fraction (ISO). Differences in NODDI-related metrics between RW and SD were determined using a voxel-wise paired t-test. We identified an association between NODDI metrics and CFT results using Spearman's correlation coefficient.

Results

Sleep deprivation worsened subjects' performance in the delayed-CFT trial. We observed no significant difference in ICVF and ODI between RW and SD. After SD, subjects showed decreases in ISO, primarily in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe, while exhibiting ISO increases in the anterior and posterior cerebellar lobe and cerebellar vermis. Furthermore, ISO change in the left superior, middle and inferior frontal gyrus was significantly correlated with completion time change in delayed-CFT trial performance.

Conclusion

Our results suggested that SD hardly affected the density and spatial organization of neurites in GM, but the extra-neurite water molecule diffusion process was affected (perhaps resulting from neuroinflammation), which contributed to VSM dysfunction.

Contrasting Effects of Sleep Restriction, Total Sleep Deprivation, and Sleep Timing on Positive and Negative Affect

Laboratory-based sleep manipulations show asymmetries between positive and negative affect, but say little about how more specific moods might change. We report extensive analyzes of items from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) during days following nights of chronic sleep restriction (6 h sleep opportunity), during 40 h of acute sleep deprivation under constant routine conditions, and during a week-long forced desynchrony protocol in which participants lived on a 28-h day. Living in the laboratory resulted in medium effects sizes on all positive moods (Attentiveness, General Positive Affect, Joviality, Assuredness), with a general deterioration as the days wore on. These effects were not found with negative moods. Sleep restriction reduced some positive moods, particularly Attentiveness (also General Positive), and increased Hostility. A burden of chronic sleep loss also led to lower positive moods when participants confronted the acute sleep loss challenge, and all positive moods, as well as Fearfulness, General Negative Affect and Hostility were affected. Sleeping at atypical circadian phases resulted in mood changes: all positive moods reduced, Hostility and General Negative Affect increased. Deteriorations increased the further participants slept from their typical nocturnal sleep. In most cases the changes induced by chronic or acute sleep loss or mistimed sleep waxed or waned across the waking day, with linear or various non-linear trends best fitting these time-awake-based changes. While extended laboratory stays do not emulate the fluctuating emotional demands of everyday living, these findings demonstrate that even in controlled settings mood changes systematically as sleep is shortened or mistimed.

Abnormal Fractional Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuation Changes in Patients With Dry Eye Disease: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Purpose

To investigate spontaneous brain activity in patients with dry eye (DE) and healthy control (HC) using the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) technique with the aim of elucidating the relationship between the clinical symptoms of DE and changes in brain function.

Material and Methods

A total of 28 patients with DE and 28 matched healthy volunteers (10 males and 18 females in each group) were enrolled. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed in both groups. Then all subjects were required to complete a comprehensive Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the differences in fALFF values between the two groups and their diagnostic value. Linear correlations between HADS and fALFF values in different brain regions of DE patients were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results

Patients with DE had significantly higher fALFF values in the left calcarine sulcus (CS) than the HC group, while fALFF values in the bilateral middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and right MFG/right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were significantly lower in DE patients than in HC group. fALFF values had a high diagnostic value for differentiating patients with DE from the HC group (P &lt; 0.001). Right MFG and right MFG/IFG were significantly correlated with HADS values.

Conclusion

Our study found that DE mainly involved functional disorders in the brain areas of the left CS, bilateral MFG and right MFG/right IFG, which helped us to find possible clinical features of DE disease and reflected the potential pathological mechanism of DE.

Abnormal dynamic functional connectivity after sleep deprivation from temporal variability perspective

Sleep deprivation (SD) is very common in modern society and regarded as a potential causal mechanism of several clinical disorders. Previous neuroimaging studies have explored the neural mechanisms of SD using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from static (comparing two MRI sessions [one after SD and one after resting wakefulness]) and dynamic (using repeated MRI during one night of SD) perspectives. Recent SD researches have focused on the dynamic functional brain organization during the resting-state scan. Our present study adopted a novel metric (temporal variability), which has been successfully applied to many clinical diseases, to examine the dynamic functional connectivity after SD in 55 normal young subjects. We found that sleep-deprived subjects showed increased regional-level temporal variability in large-scale brain regions, and decreased regional-level temporal variability in several thalamus subregions. After SD, participants exhibited enhanced intra-network temporal variability in the default mode network (DMN) and increased inter-network temporal variability in numerous subnetwork pairs. Furthermore, we found that the inter-network temporal variability between visual network and DMN was negative related with the slowest 10% respond speed (β = -.42, p = 5.57 × 10^-4 ) of the psychomotor vigilance test after SD following the stepwise regression analysis. In conclusion, our findings suggested that sleep-deprived subjects showed abnormal dynamic brain functional configuration, which provides new insights into the neural underpinnings of SD and contributes to our understanding of the pathophysiology of clinical disorders.

Altered Functional Connectivity in the Resting State Neostriatum After Complete Sleep Deprivation: Impairment of Motor Control and Regulatory Network

Sleep loss not only compromises individual physiological functions but also induces a psychocognitive decline and even impairs the motor control and regulatory network. In this study, we analyzed whole-brain functional connectivity changes in the putamen and caudate nucleus as seed points in the neostriatum after 36 h of complete sleep deprivation in 30 healthy adult men by resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the physiological mechanisms involved in impaired motor control and regulatory network in individuals in the sleep-deprived state. The functional connectivity between the putamen and the bilateral precentral, postcentral, superior temporal, and middle temporal gyrus, and the left caudate nucleus and the postcentral and inferior temporal gyrus were significantly reduced after 36 h of total sleep deprivation. This may contribute to impaired motor perception, fine motor control, and speech motor control in individuals. It may also provide some evidence for neurophysiological changes in the brain in the sleep-deprived state and shed new light on the study of the neostriatum in the basal ganglia.