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Clinical Trial
. 2014 Nov 5;9(11):e112222.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112222. eCollection 2014.

Altered resting-state amygdala functional connectivity after 36 hours of total sleep deprivation

Yongcong Shao  1 , Yu Lei  1 , Lubin Wang  1 , Tianye Zhai  1 , Xiao Jin  1 , Wei Ni  1 , Yue Yang  1 , Shuwen Tan  1 , Bo Wen  2 , Enmao Ye  1 , Zheng Yang  1
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Altered resting-state amygdala functional connectivity after 36 hours of total sleep deprivation

Yongcong Shao et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: Recent neuroimaging studies have identified a potentially critical role of the amygdala in disrupted emotion neurocircuitry in individuals after total sleep deprivation (TSD). However, connectivity between the amygdala and cerebral cortex due to TSD remains to be elucidated. In this study, we used resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate the functional connectivity changes of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and centromedial amygdala (CMA) in the brain after 36 h of TSD.

Materials and methods: Fourteen healthy adult men aged 25.9 ± 2.3 years (range, 18-28 years) were enrolled in a within-subject crossover study. Using the BLA and CMA as separate seed regions, we examined resting-state functional connectivity with fMRI during rested wakefulness (RW) and after 36 h of TSD.

Results: TSD resulted in a significant decrease in the functional connectivity between the BLA and several executive control regions (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC], right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], right inferior frontal gyrus [IFG]). Increased functional connectivity was found between the BLA and areas including the left posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus (PCC/PrCu) and right parahippocampal gyrus. With regard to CMA, increased functional connectivity was observed with the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and right precentral gyrus.

Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that disturbance in amygdala related circuits may contribute to TSD psychophysiology and suggest that functional connectivity studies of the amygdala during the resting state may be used to discern aberrant patterns of coupling within these circuits after TSD.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Whole-brain functional connectivity patterns of the BLA and CMA before and after 36-h TSD.
Brain regions with positive correlations are displayed in warm colors, while negative correlations are displayed in cool colors.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Brain areas that exhibited altered functional connectivity after 36 h TSD.
The left sides of the images in transverse views represent the right hemisphere.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

The research reported in this article was supported by grants from the National Military Science Foundation of China, Grant No. BWS11J045, No. 06z066, No. AWS11Z005-2, No. AWS12J003, and No. 2013BAHD2806. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.