Visual Attention and Poor Sleep Quality

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Sleep Science

Background:

• Sleep deprivation is known to impair visual attention.
• The impact of chronic poor sleep quality on visual attention and search (VSA) remains unclear.
• The dorsal attention network (DAN) and ventral attention network (VAN) are crucial for VSA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between sleep quality and VSA.
• To examine the functional and structural properties of the DAN and VAN in relation to sleep quality.
• To compare VSA performance and attention network characteristics between poor sleepers (PSs) and good sleepers (GSs).

Main Methods:

• 79 young male subjects were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
• VSA was evaluated using a computerized match-to-sample (MTS) task.
• Functional networks and tracts of the DAN and VAN were analyzed, controlling for age, depression, and anxiety.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in VSA task performance or attention network properties were found between PSs and GSs.
• Sleep quality correlated significantly with daytime sleepiness, sleep hygiene, depression, and anxiety.
• Interaction analysis revealed that PSs' task performance was more DAN-reliant, while GSs' performance was more VAN-reliant.

Conclusions:

• Chronic poor sleep quality does not directly impair visual attention and search performance or alter the fundamental properties of the DAN and VAN.
• However, poor sleep quality shifts the reliance of VSA from the VAN to the DAN, suggesting a compensatory mechanism.
• These findings highlight a differential engagement of attention networks based on sleep quality.