Skip to content

Getting a Good Night's Sleep: Associations Between Sleep Duration and Parent-Reported Sleep Quality on Default Mode Network Connectivity in Youth.

Aneesh Hehr, Edward D Huntley, Hilary A Marusak

Journal of Adolescent Health June 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.01.010 (opens in new tab)

Read Full Text
Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Peer reviewed
Sample size 3,798
Population Youth aged 11.9 ± 0.6 years (47.5% female) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development cohort
Measures Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children
Topics Default mode network
Keywords Dorsal attention network Frontoparietal network Resting-state functional connectivity Salience network Sleep disturbances
Key findings Shorter sleep duration and greater sleep disturbances were associated with weaker within-network DMN resting-state functional connectivity; shorter sleep was also associated with weaker anticorrelation between the DMN and the dorsal attention and frontoparietal networks, and greater wake after sleep onset was associated with DMN-DAN connectivity, most pronounced among children sleeping fewer hours per night.

Abstract

Sleep plays an important role in healthy neurocognitive development, and poor sleep is linked to cognitive and emotional dysfunction. Studies in adults suggest that shorter sleep duration and poor sleep quality may disrupt core neurocognitive networks, particularly the default mode network (DMN)-a network implicated in internal cognitive processing and rumination. Here, we examine the relationships between sleep and within- and between-network resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of the DMN in youth. This study included 3,798 youth (11.9 ± 0.6 years, 47.5% female) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development cohort. Sleep duration and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were quantified using Fitbit watch recordings, and parent-reported sleep disturbances were measured using the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. We focused on rs-FC between the DMN and anticorrelated networks (i.e., dorsal attention network [DAN], frontoparietal network, salience network). Both shorter sleep duration and greater sleep disturbances were associated with weaker within-network DMN rs-FC. Shorter sleep duration was also associated with weaker anticorrelation (i.e., higher rs-FC) between the DMN and two anticorrelated networks: the DAN and frontoparietal network. Greater WASO was also associated with DMN-DAN rs-FC, and the effects of WASO on rs-FC were most pronounced among children who slept fewer hours/night. Together, these data suggest that different aspects of sleep are associated with distinct and interactive alterations in resting-state brain networks. Alterations in core neurocognitive networks may confer increased risk for emotional psychopathology and attention-related vulnerabilities. Our findings contribute to the growing number of studies demonstrating the importance of healthy sleep practices in youth.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain 2001 Observational study
Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects 2008 Observational cohort
Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls 2005 Observational cohort n = 20
Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls 2011 Observational cohort
The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects 2008 Observational study

Citations in the library

Cited by 2

Cites 4

Related reading

Explore topics

Default mode network