The Effects of Total Sleep Deprivation on Cerebral Responses to Cognitive Performance

Abstract

We review the findings from a study utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) Understanding the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance is increasingly important in a society where many people acutely or chronically fail to obtain adequate sleep. Recent advances in functional brain imaging techniques allow researchers to relate brain function more directly than ever to behavioral performance following sleep deprivation. Prior to our study described below, only three published neuroimaging studies have concomitantly examined the effects of total sleep deprivation (TSD) on cerebral function and behavioral performance in normal control participants. These studies utilized either positron emission tomography (PET) (Thomas et al. 2000;Wu et al. 1991) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) (Portas et al. 1998) to study brain activation during performance of attention-demanding tasks. Both of the PET studies reported decreased behavioral performance following TSD, decreased global levels of glucose metabolism, and decreased local activation in attention and arousal-related brain regions such as the thalamus. The FMRI study (Portas et al. 1998) utilized a short-lasting visual reaction time task that resulted in equal performance before and after TSD. The authors reported that the thalamus showed an increased hemodynamic response to the attention task only following TSD. Together, these studies suggest that activity levels in brain systems involved in arousal and attention may influence cognitive performance following TSD. The serial addition/subtraction task used by Thomas et al. (Thomas et al. 2000) required arithmetic working memory in addition to the attentional demands and showed decreased activation in related regions such as prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobe, and anterior cingulate gyrus. This suggests that brain regions involved in working memory and arithmetic might be vulnerable to TSD.We recently reported the results from a study utilizing FMRI to examine the effects of 35 h TSD on cogni-

Systemic and Nasal Delivery of Orexin-A (Hypocretin-1) Reduces the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance in Nonhuman Primates

“…reversed the effects of sleep deprivation on CMRglc levels in the thalamus (Fig. 6), a brain region highly susceptible to sleep deficits in humans (Thomas et al, 2000;Drummond and Brown, 2001;Lambe et al, 2005). The fact that nasal orexin-A was effective in reversing performance on High-load trials, even to a greater extent than in normal alert sessions, suggests that: 1) high cognitive load trials engage either different brain processes or the same processes to a greater extent than low cognitive load trials, and 2) "high load cognitive processes" may recruit many neurons that have orexin receptors that can be activated more effectively by peptide delivery via the nasal route (Fig.…”

Hormone Treatment Gives No Benefit Against Cognitive Changes Caused by Acute Sleep Deprivation in Postmenopausal Women

“…The brain areas responsible for cognitive domains that are related to attention and memory include the basal forebrain, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and thalamus (Thomas et al, 2000;Portas et al, 1998;Posner et al, 1997;Pigott and Milner, 1993). The prefrontal cortex and thalamus are both proposed to be vulnerable to sleep loss as well, although the influence of sleep deprivation on cerebral activation is not yet clearly defined (Drummond et al, 2004;Drummond and Brown, 2001;Harrison et al, 2000;Thomas et al, 2000;Portas et al, 1998). In addition, the basal forebrain and thalamus belong to the brain areas in which receptors for sex hormones, especially estrogen, are found (McEwen and Alves, 1999;Bixo et al, 1995).…”

Electroencephalographic changes after one nigth of sleep deprivation

“…Recent electro e n c e p h a l o g r a p h i c and neuroimaging studies revealed that the pref rontal cortex (PFC) is more responsive to sleep deprivation then other brain areas 2,[8][9][10][11][12] , which is expected since the frontal region has a greater restorative need than other areas of the brain. In fact, during non-REM sleep, in the rebound sleep after SD, the i n c rease in delta-wave frequency (1-4 Hz, slow wave activity related to deep sleep) occurs first in the PFC and later on other areas of the cort e x 1 3 , 1 4 , suggesti n g the importance of the initial re c o v e ry in this re g i o n .…”