Individualized rTMS Intervention Targeting Sleep Deprivation-Induced Vigilance Decline: Task fMRI-Guided Approach

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sleep Medicine
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Sleep deprivation (SD) is a widespread issue in modern society.
• While recovery sleep and naps can help, they don't fully restore cognitive function after SD.
• Targeted interventions are needed to enhance cognitive recovery post-SD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve cognitive performance after SD.
• To identify the optimal brain region for rTMS targeting to counteract SD effects.
• To assess the efficacy of combining a brief nap with rTMS for vigilance recovery.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments involving 50 participants were conducted.
• Participants underwent a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) after normal sleep, 24h SD, and a 30-min nap.
• Experiment 2 utilized individualized 10-Hz rTMS over the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) post-nap, with sham control, to assess PVT reaction times.

Main Results:

• Task-based fMRI identified the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) as the optimal stimulation target.
• Individualized 10-Hz rTMS applied over the right MFG significantly reduced SD-induced vigilance impairment.
• The combination of a nap and rTMS improved PVT performance.

Conclusions:

• Combining a brief nap with individualized rTMS is an effective strategy to restore vigilance after sleep deprivation.
• This intervention modulates neural activity in functional brain networks, offering a promising method to combat SD's cognitive effects.
• rTMS over the right MFG shows potential for mitigating the cognitive consequences of sleep loss.