Impaired cortical oxygenation is related to mood disturbance resulting from three nights of sleep restriction

Abstract

Chronic sleep restriction adversely effects cognitive performance and mood, resulting in accidents and economic loss. We examined the effects of three nights of sleep restriction on cortical oxygenation, cognitive performance and mood. We studied 14 young adults. All subjects spent ≥8 h/night in bed prior to the study day (sufficient sleep), followed by <4 h/night in bed for 3 days (insufficient sleep). Oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) levels were measured with near-infrared spectroscopy during a word fluency task, and subjects underwent a continuous performance test-identical pairs version (CPT-IP) and filled out the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. Peak oxyHb levels after the first and third insufficient sleep nights were significantly lower than that after the sufficient sleep night. Sustained reaction time after the first and third insufficient sleep nights was significantly shorter than that after the sufficient sleep night. Correct response on the CPT-IP after the first and third insufficient sleep nights was significantly less than after the sufficient sleep night. POMS vigor scores after the first and third insufficient sleep nights were both significantly lower than that after the sufficient sleep night. Fatigue and total mood disturbance scores of POMS were significantly higher after the third insufficient sleep night than those after the sufficient sleep night. Three nights of sleep restriction reduced the cortical oxygenation response, and might impair cognitive performance and promote mood disturbance.

Differential effects of physical activity and sleep duration on cognitive function in young adults

“… 27 , 47 Time to the peak OxyHb is the time from the start of the task to the peak OxyHb, indicating cortical activation. 28 , 29 The area under the NIRS curve was measured using the trapezium rule, which approximates the region under the NIRS curve described by the function f ( x ). 28 , 29 , 48 The reaction time is indicated by the time (s), which is indicated by a perpendicular line from the centroid of a NIRS signal-change area (calculated with positive change) throughout all the task periods.…”

“… 28 In frontal channels, OxyHb increased immediately after the start of the task period, was maintained at the activated level during the task period, and decreased gradually after the task was finished. 28 , 29 Measuring the peak OxyHb, the area under the NIRS curve, time to the peak OxyHb, and the reaction time was useful for detecting abnormal brain activation. 28 , 29 , 48 , 49 , 50 NIRS was performed in the morning (from 10:00 a.m. to noon).…”

“…Our findings suggested that 1 night of insufficient sleep lowered sustained attention, vigilance, and vigor using the Profile of Mood States, which was accompanied by decreased cortical OxyHb levels in the frontal lobe. 28 , 29 NIRS offers several advantages over functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), such as feasibility for measurement of concentration changes in oxygenated hemoglobin, finer temporal resolution, and ease of administration, in addition to being noninvasive and portable. 30 Thus, evaluation of the cortical oxygenation response using NIRS may facilitate our understanding of the role of exercise and/or sleep in cognitive function related to daily life and industrial safety.…”

Effects of hypnotics on prefrontal cortex activity during a verbal fluency task in healthy male subjects: A near‐infrared spectroscopy study

“…Ramelteon had little effect on prefrontal activity during both the task and posttask periods, similar to that of the placebo. Previous studies using NIRS demonstrated that subjective sleepiness decreased prefrontal activity during a verbal fluency task (Miyata, Noda, et al, ; Suda et al, ). In the present study, both triazolam and ramelteon increased subjective sleepiness; however, the extent of sleepiness was small compared with previous studies, meaning that it may contribute little to brain activity.…”

“…For example, sleep disturbance is typically associated with psychiatric patients (Wulff, Gatti, Wettstein, & Foster, 2010), and sleep complaints have been shown to reduce prefrontal activation as measured by NIRS in patients with major depression (Nishida et al, 2017). We have previously described that acute and subchronic deficient sleep may reduce peak oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration in the lateral frontal lobes (Miyata et al, 2010;Miyata, Noda, et al, 2015) and that NIRS measurements are differentially affected by mirtazapine and trazodone (Kohmura et al, 2013), which are sedating antidepressants commonly used to treat chronic insomnia in the United States. In addition, antidepressants have recently been shown to have a dose-dependent effect on NIRS signals (Takamiya et al, 2017).…”