Abstract
Sleep deprivation (SD) induces a negative emotional experience due to a prolonged time spent awake. However, few studies have focused on the mechanism underlying communication within brain networks or alterations during this emotional deterioration. We propose that negative reward judgment is important in poor emotional processing after SD, which will be reflected in functional connectivity in the reward network. We sought to analyze alterations in functional connectivity within the reward network and cerebral cortex. Furthermore, we analyzed changes in functional connectivity correlation with negative emotional experience after SD. Twenty-six healthy volunteers participated in this study. Two resting-state fMRI scans were obtained from the participants, once during resting wakefulness, and once after 36 h of total SD. The bilateral nucleus accumbens (NAc) was selected as a seed region for region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI functional connectivity analysis. Correlation analyses between functional connectivity alterations within the reward network and negative emotional experience were also performed. We found that SD decreased functional connectivity between the left NAc and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) compared with resting wakefulness. There was a decreased functional connectivity with the ACC and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) after SD in the right NAc. Furthermore, decreased functional connectivity between the right NAc and right IFG, and NAc and ACC was negatively correlated with emotional experience scores. Sleep deprivation decreased functional connectivity within the reward network. This may be associated with the enhanced negative emotional experience that was found after total sleep deprivation.
Highlights
Sleep deprivation (SD) can cause serious harm to humans
There were no differences in the heart or respiratory rate between the rested wakefulness (RW) and total sleep deprivation (TSD) conditions (p > 0.05, Table 1)
Functional Connectivity of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The purpose of this part of the analysis was to find out the functional connectivity between the left/right NAc and other nodes of reward network at RW or SD
Summary
Sleep deprivation (SD) can cause serious harm to humans. Beyond its negative impact on cognitive brain function, such as attention, working memory [1], and decision making [2], SD results in deterioration of emotional experience [3, 4]. Deterioration in emotional states following SD is associated with the emotional processing network in the brain [10]. Several studies have indicated that an increased emotional state after SD is correlated with the emotional control of brain functioning [10, 14]. Together, these studies confirm that SD induces a decline in emotional state and emotional instability as SD is prolonged. We assessed the relationship between functional connectivity changes within the reward network and negative emotional experiences. We hypothesized that [1] SD would induce a decline in functional connectivity in the reward network; and [2] this is positively correlated with negative emotional experiences. The bilateral NAc was selected as the seed region for functional connectivity analysis
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