Circadian Rhythms in Fractal Features of EEG Signals

Time-of-day modulations affect both performance on a wide range of cognitive tasks and electrical activity of the brain, as recorded by electroencephalography (EEG). The aim of this work was to identify fluctuations of fractal properties of EEG time series due to circadian rhythms. In twenty-one healthy volunteers (all males, age between 20 and 30 years, chronotype: neutral type) high density EEG recordings at rest in open and closed eyes conditions were acquired in 4 times of the day (8.00 a.m., 11.30 a.m., 2.30 p.m., 7.00 p.m.). A vigilance task (Psychomotor Vigilance Test, PVT) was also performed. Detrended fluctuation Analysis (DFA) of envelope of alpha, beta and theta rhythms was performed, as well as Highuchi fractal dimension (HFD) of the whole band EEG. Our results evidenced circadian fluctuations of fractal features of EEG at rest in both eyes closed and eyes open conditions. Lower values of DFA exponent were found in the time T1 in closed eyes condition, likely effect of the sleep inertia. An alpha DFA exponent reduction was found also in central sensory-motor areas at time T3, the day time in which the sleepiness can be present. In eyes open condition, HFD lowered during the day. In eyes closed condition, an HFD increase was observed in central and frontal regions at time T2, the time in which alertness reaches its maximum and homeostatic sleep pressure is low. Complexity and the persistence of temporal correlations of brain rhythms change during daytime, parallel to changes in alertness and performance.