TY - JOUR
T1 - Functional connectivity correlates of attentional networks in insomnia disorder
T2 - A pilot study
AU - Perrier, Joy
AU - Bruijel, Jessica
AU - Naveau, Mikaël
AU - Ramautar, Jennifer
AU - Delcroix, Nicolas
AU - Coppens, Joris
AU - Lakbila-Kamal, Oti
AU - Stoffers, Diederick
AU - Bessot, Nicolas
AU - Van Someren, Eus J.W.
N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the students that helped with data collection as well as participants for their active contribution to these results. This study has been supported by funding from the European Research Council ERC‐ADG‐2014‐671084 INSOMNIA. Oti Lakbila‐Kamal was supported by a Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam University Research Fellowship. Funding Information: H2020 European Research Council, Grant/Award Number: ERC‐ADG‐2014‐671084 INSOMNIA; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam University, Grant/Award Number: Research Fellowship Funding information Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the students that helped with data collection as well as participants for their active contribution to these results. This study has been supported by funding from the European Research Council ERC-ADG-2014-671084 INSOMNIA. Oti Lakbila-Kamal was supported by a Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam University Research Fellowship. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 European Sleep Research Society.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Insomnia disorder has been associated with poor executive functioning. Functional imaging studies of executive functioning in insomnia are scarce and inconclusive. Because the Attentional Network Test relies on well-defined cortical networks and sensitively distinguishes different aspects of executive function, it might reveal brain functional alterations in relatively small samples of patients. The current pilot study assessed functional connectivity during the Attentional Network Test performed using magnetic resonance imaging in 12 participants with insomnia and 13 self-defined good sleepers. ANCOVAs were used to evaluate group differences in performance and functional connectivity in the regions of interest representing the attentional networks (i.e. alerting, orienting and executive control) at p < 0.05, uncorrected. During the orienting part, participants with insomnia showed weaker connectivity of the precentral gyrus with the superior parietal lobe (false discovery rate-corrected), while they showed stronger connectivity between premotor and visual regions. Individual differences in connectivity between premotor and visual regions correlated inversely with reaction time. Reaction times suggested more efficient executive control in participants with insomnia compared with good sleepers. During the executive control part, participants with insomnia showed stronger connectivity of thalamic parts of the arousal circuit with the middle frontal and the occipital gyri. Conversely, connectivity between the inferior and superior frontal gyri was weaker. Participants with insomnia seem to recruit more cortical resources in visuo-motor regions to orient attention than good sleepers do, and seem to have enhanced executive control that relates to stronger connectivity of arousal-related thalamic areas. This latter result should be treated with caution and requires confirmation.
AB - Insomnia disorder has been associated with poor executive functioning. Functional imaging studies of executive functioning in insomnia are scarce and inconclusive. Because the Attentional Network Test relies on well-defined cortical networks and sensitively distinguishes different aspects of executive function, it might reveal brain functional alterations in relatively small samples of patients. The current pilot study assessed functional connectivity during the Attentional Network Test performed using magnetic resonance imaging in 12 participants with insomnia and 13 self-defined good sleepers. ANCOVAs were used to evaluate group differences in performance and functional connectivity in the regions of interest representing the attentional networks (i.e. alerting, orienting and executive control) at p < 0.05, uncorrected. During the orienting part, participants with insomnia showed weaker connectivity of the precentral gyrus with the superior parietal lobe (false discovery rate-corrected), while they showed stronger connectivity between premotor and visual regions. Individual differences in connectivity between premotor and visual regions correlated inversely with reaction time. Reaction times suggested more efficient executive control in participants with insomnia compared with good sleepers. During the executive control part, participants with insomnia showed stronger connectivity of thalamic parts of the arousal circuit with the middle frontal and the occipital gyri. Conversely, connectivity between the inferior and superior frontal gyri was weaker. Participants with insomnia seem to recruit more cortical resources in visuo-motor regions to orient attention than good sleepers do, and seem to have enhanced executive control that relates to stronger connectivity of arousal-related thalamic areas. This latter result should be treated with caution and requires confirmation.
KW - attentional network test
KW - executive control
KW - frontal gyrus
KW - hyperarousal
KW - task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging
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U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13796
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13796
M3 - Article
C2 - 36436510
SN - 0962-1105
VL - 32
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - Journal of sleep research
JF - Journal of sleep research
IS - 3
M1 - e13796
ER -