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

ObjectivesThis study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans to assess the dominant effects of 36 h total sleep deprivation (TSD) on vigilant attention and changes in the resting-state network. Materials and methodsTwenty-two healthy college students were enrolled in this study. Participants underwent two rs-fMRI scans, once in rested wakefulness (RW) and once after 36 h 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 h of TSD. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation analysis investigated the relationship between altered insular functional connectivity and PVT performance. ResultsAfter 36 h 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. ConclusionOur results suggest that 36 h 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.

Automated summary

This study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the effects of 36 hours of total sleep deprivation on vigilant attention and resting-state network. The results showed that sleep deprivation impaired vigilant attention and caused changes in functional connectivity, which were positively correlated with reaction time to psychomotor vigilance tasks. These findings suggest that sleep deprivation impacts visual attention and the reception of information in the brain.