Altered hypothalamic functional connectivity after partial sleep deprivation in young and elderly adults.

BACKGROUND

The hypothalamus plays a critical role in sleep-wake regulation and attention control. However, few studies explored the alterations of hypothalamic functional connectivity after sleep deprivation. The purpose of the study is to investigate the influence of partial sleep deprivation on hypothalamic functional connectivity in young and elderly adults and to determine whether age modulates the interactions between partial sleep deprivation and hypothalamic functional connectivity.

METHODS

Data for this study were collected as part of the Stockholm Sleepy Brain Project. Forty-one young adults (aged 20-30) and thirty-six elderly adults (aged 65-75) were finally recruited in the study. Participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans following full sleep and partial sleep deprivation (3 h of sleep) in a crossover design. Seed-based functional connectivity analyses were performed for the bilateral hypothalamus using rs-fMRI data.

RESULTS

For young adults, partial sleep deprivation caused enhanced hypothalamic functional connectivity with the inferior frontal gyrus and precuneus. For elderly adults, reduced functional connectivity was observed between the hypothalamus and frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital regions, and cingulate gyrus following partial sleep deprivation. Further, a significant interactive effect between age and partial sleep deprivation on the hypothalamic functional connectivity was observed. Age-related abnormalities of hypothalamic functional connectivity were observed in frontoparietal regions, pallidum, rectus, and superior occipital gyrus.

CONCLUSION

Partial sleep deprivation led to increased hypothalamic functional connectivity in young adults, while decreased hypothalamic functional connectivity in elderly adults. Our results indicate that age modulates the influence of sleep deprivation on intrinsic brain functional connectivity.