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Sleep duration, brain structure, and psychiatric and cognitive problems in children

Wei Cheng1,2, Edmund Rolls3,4,5, Weikang Gong6

  • 1Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China. wcheng@fudan.edu.cn.

Molecular Psychiatry
|February 5, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Short sleep duration in children is linked to psychiatric issues and smaller brain volumes in key areas. Parental psychopathology also impacts children's sleep, highlighting a critical public health concern.

Area of Science:

  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Low sleep duration in adults is associated with psychiatric and cognitive impairments.
  • Previous research has not extensively analyzed sleep duration in children concerning psychiatric issues, cognition, and brain structure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct a large-scale analysis of sleep duration in children (9-11 years old).
  • To investigate the relationship between sleep duration, psychiatric problems (including depression), cognitive function, and brain structure.
  • To explore the longitudinal associations and mediating factors in these relationships.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data from 11,067 children in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.
  • Employed linear mixed models, mediation analysis, and structural equation modeling for longitudinal analysis.
  • Assessed dimensional psychopathology in children and parents, cognitive scores, and sleep duration.

Main Results:

  • Children's dimensional psychopathology, including depression and anxiety, negatively correlated with sleep duration.
  • Parental psychopathology was also correlated with shorter sleep duration in children.
  • Longer sleep duration correlated with larger volumes in the orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, precuneus, and supramarginal gyrus.
  • Depressive problems significantly predicted short sleep duration one year later and mediated the effect of brain regions on sleep.
  • Higher cognitive scores were associated with larger volumes in the prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood psychopathology, particularly depression, is significantly associated with short sleep duration and brain structure.
  • Parental psychopathology is a relevant factor to consider in relation to children's sleep problems.
  • Brain structure is interconnected with sleep duration and psychiatric issues in children, with depressive problems playing a mediating role.

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