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Cortical hierarchy underlying homeostatic sleep pressure alleviation
Qihong Zou1,2,3, Guangyuan Zou4,5, Shilei Wang4,5
1Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China. zouqihong@pku.edu.cn.
Nature Communications
|November 14, 2025
Summary
Sleep alleviates brain pressure by altering brain activity across different regions. These changes follow a hierarchy, diminishing as sleep deepens and are linked to brain metabolism and plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Science
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Sleep is crucial for restoring brain function by dissipating sleep pressure.
- The hierarchical organization of the brain's response to sleep pressure is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map the spatial patterns of brain activity changes during sleep across the cortical hierarchy.
- To investigate the relationship between sleep pressure alleviation, brain metabolism, and cortical plasticity.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) and blood oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were used in 130 healthy adults.
- Analysis focused on spatial patterns of BOLD fluctuations along a sensory-association cortical gradient during wakefulness and sleep.
- Correlation with individual slow-wave activity and regional glycolysis was examined.
Main Results:
- Sleep induced heterogeneous changes in BOLD fluctuations along the sensory-association cortical gradient.
- These sleep-wake differences correlated with slow-wave activity and were most prominent in the first hour of sleep.
- Hierarchical differences in BOLD dynamics were downscaled as sleep progressed and were reinstated after sleep loss.
Conclusions:
- A cortical hierarchy underlies the dynamic changes in sleep homeostasis.
- Homeostatic regulation sculpts cortical plasticity during sleep.
- Regional glycolysis is spatially associated with the homeostatic regulation of BOLD fluctuation amplitude.
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