Attention Performance Correlated With White Matter Structural Brain Networks in Shift Work Disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neuroscience
• Medical Science

Background:

• Shift work disorder (SWD) is known to affect functional brain connectivity.
• Structural connectivity disruptions in white matter (WM) networks related to attention in SWD are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate topological alterations in WM structural networks associated with attention deficits in patients with SWD.
• To explore the relationship between attention network efficiency and structural network properties in SWD.

Main Methods:

• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography was used to build WM structural networks.
• Graph theory analysis was applied to assess topological properties of these networks.
• The Attention Network Test (ANT) measured alerting, orienting, and executive control functions.

Main Results:

• Patients with SWD exhibited a lower alerting effect and a higher executive effect compared to healthy controls.
• Link-based analysis identified 15 altered connectivity matrices (reduced fiber numbers) in SWD patients.
• Graph theory analysis revealed decreased global efficiency and altered characteristic path length in SWD patients' structural networks.
• A significant negative correlation was observed between executive effect and global network efficiency.

Conclusions:

• SWD is associated with significant disruptions in the topological organization of WM structural networks.
• These findings offer novel insights into the neural underpinnings of attention deficits in SWD.
• Structural network alterations in SWD may serve as potential biomarkers for the disorder.