Altered insular functional connectivity correlates to impaired vigilant attention after sleep deprivation: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

• Published in: Frontiers in neuroscience 2022-07, Vol.16, p.889009-889009
• Main Authors: Fu, Weiwei, Dai, Cimin, Chen, Jie, Wang, Letong, Song, Tao, Peng, Ziyi, Xu, Mengmeng, Xu, Lin, Tang, Yuguo, Shao, Yongcong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attention; Brain; Brain mapping; Correlation analysis; Cortex (cingulate); Cortex (insular); Executive function; functional connectivity; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Information processing; insula; Magnetic resonance imaging; Neural networks; Neuroimaging; Neuroscience; psychomotor vigilance task; resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; Sleep and wakefulness; Sleep deprivation; Vigilance; Visual perception
• ISSN: 1662-453X; 1662-4548; 1662-453X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.889009

Abstract Objectives: This study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans to assess the dominant effects of 36h total sleep deprivation (TSD) on vigilant attention and changes in the resting-state network. Methods: Twenty-two healthy college students were enrolled in this study. Participants underwent two rs-fMRI scans, once in rested wakefulness (RW) and once after 36 hours of TSD. We used psychomotor vigilance tasks (PVT) to measure vigilant attention. The region-of-interest to region-of-interest correlation was employed to analyze the relationship within the salience network (SN) and between other networks after 36 hours of TSD. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation analysis investigated the relationship between altered insular functional connectivity and PVT performance. Results: After 36 hours of TSD, participants showed significantly decreased vigilant attention. Additionally, TSD induced decreased functional connectivity between the visual and parietal regions, whereas a significant increase was observed between the anterior cingulate cortex and insula. Moreover, changes in functional connectivity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula showed a significant positive correlation with the response time to PVT. Conclusion: Our results suggest that 36 hours of TSD impaired vigilant visual attention, resulting in slower reaction times. The decrease in visual-parietal functional connectivity may be related to the decrease in the reception of information in the brain. Enhanced functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex with the insula revealed that the brain network compensation occurs mainly in executive function.