Altered intrinsic brain functional network dynamics in moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sleep Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) impacts brain activity during rest.
• Dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) measures fluctuations in functional connectivity (FC).

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate differences in dFC between moderate-to-severe OSA patients and healthy controls.
• Explore the relationship between dFC dynamics and clinical variables in OSA.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state fMRI was used in 37 OSA patients and 16 controls.
• Sliding-window analysis evaluated dFC dynamics and correlations with clinical data.

Main Results:

• Two dFC states identified: hypoconnected (State I) and hyperconnected (State II).
• OSA patients showed a 34% increase in State I occurrence and reduced State II.
• Increased time in State I correlated with higher Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index scores in OSA patients.

Conclusions:

• Moderate-to-severe OSA is associated with significant alterations in brain dFC.
• These dFC changes may represent a novel physiological biomarker for OSA.