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Large-scale brain modes reorganize between infant sleep states and carry prognostic information for preterms

Anton Tokariev1,2,3, James A Roberts4, Andrew Zalesky5,6

  • 1QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia. anton.tokariev@helsinki.fi.

Nature Communications
|June 15, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Newborn brain activity reorganizes during sleep, offering insights into neurological health. This sleep transition is altered in preterm infants and predicts future visual performance.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • Sleep architecture provides crucial information about brain health throughout life.
  • Distinct vigilance states in newborns are key indicators of neurological well-being, but underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the systems-level mechanisms of large-scale brain activity reorganization during sleep transitions in newborns.
  • To examine differences in sleep-related brain network reorganization between full-term and preterm infants.
  • To determine if sleep reorganization predicts long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, specifically visual performance.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of large-scale cortical activity and functional brain networks during sleep transitions in newborn infants.
  • Comparison of sleep architecture and network reorganization in preterm versus full-term infants.
  • Development and application of a computational model to understand biophysical mechanisms of brain state transitions.

Main Results:

  • The transition from quiet to active sleep in newborns involves significant reorganization of cortical activity and functional brain networks.
  • This sleep-related neural reorganization is diminished in preterm infants.
  • The degree of neural reorganization during sleep in infancy predicts visual performance at two years of age.
  • A computational model revealed specific changes in neural activity modes during active sleep and identified deficits in preterm infants.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep-related brain network reorganization is a critical indicator of neurological development in newborns.
  • Preterm infants exhibit a deficit in this sleep-related neural reorganization, highlighting potential developmental challenges.
  • This deficit carries prognostic information for visual development, suggesting sleep patterns as an early biomarker.

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