Brain dynamics alterations induced by partial sleep deprivation: An energy landscape study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Sleep Research

Background:

• Partial sleep deprivation (PSD) impacts cognitive functions by altering neural activity in intrinsic brain networks.
• The age-related effects of PSD on the dynamic properties of large-scale brain functional networks are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the age-related differences in brain network dynamics after partial sleep deprivation using energy landscape analysis.
• To characterize the temporal evolution and functional coordination of brain activity patterns in young and older adults under conditions of full sleep and PSD.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected from healthy young and older adults.
• Energy landscape analysis was employed to characterize dominant brain activity patterns and their dynamic properties (appearance probability, duration, transitions).
• Numerical simulations were performed on the energy landscapes to assess brain dynamics.

Main Results:

• Both young and older adults exhibited similar hierarchical energy landscape structures with two major and two minor brain states.
• Partial sleep deprivation significantly altered the temporal evolution of major brain states in younger adults, increasing their appearance frequency and direct transitions.
• Younger adults showed weaker functional segregation between modules during PSD compared to full sleep, an effect not observed in older adults.

Conclusions:

• Partial sleep deprivation induces a more restricted and low-dimensional dynamic landscape of brain activity in young adults.
• Age-related differences exist in the brain's response to sleep deprivation, with older adults potentially exhibiting greater resilience in network dynamics.
• Findings provide novel insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of sleep deprivation and their modulation by age.