Visual Attention and Poor Sleep Quality

Abdolalizadeh, AmirHussein; Nabavi, Samaneh · 2022 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.850372

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Summary

This study investigates the impact of chronic poor sleep quality on visual attention and search (VSA), specifically examining the functional and structural properties of the dorsal attention network (DAN) and ventral attention network (VAN). While acute sleep deprivation is known to disrupt attention, the effects of long-term poor sleep quality on complex cognitive tasks involving these specific neural networks remain unclear. The research aimed to determine if poor sleep quality correlates with VSA performance and the integrity of the brain tracts connecting the DAN and VAN, while controlling for confounding factors such as depression and anxiety. The researchers recruited 79 young male subjects in Tehran, Iran, assessing sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Participants were categorized as poor sleepers (PS; PSQI > 5) or good sleepers (GS; PSQI ≤ 5). Additional assessments included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Sleep Hygiene Index, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. VSA was evaluated using a computerized match-to-sample task from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Neuroimaging data were acquired using a 3T MRI scanner, including resting-state fMRI to identify functional networks and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to analyze white matter tracts, specifically the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and arcuate fasciculus (AF). Statistical analyses controlled for age, depression, and anxiety. Results indicated that 43.67% of the sample had poor sleep quality, which was significantly correlated with higher daytime sleepiness, poor sleep hygiene, depression, and anxiety. However, no significant differences were found between PS and GS groups in VSA task performance (accuracy or reaction time) or in the functional and structural properties of the DAN and VAN. Crucially, interaction analysis revealed a distinct neural reliance pattern: VSA performance in poor sleepers was highly reliant on the DAN, whereas good sleepers relied more on the VAN. This suggests that while overall performance does not differ, the underlying neural mechanisms supporting visual search shift in individuals with poor sleep quality. The study concludes that chronic poor sleep quality does not impair visual search performance or alter the structural integrity of attention networks when controlling for psychiatric comorbidities. However, it does alter the neural substrate of this function, causing a shift from VAN-reliant processing in good sleepers to DAN-reliant processing in poor sleepers. This finding highlights a compensatory or altered neural strategy in poor sleepers, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between behavioral outcomes and underlying neural mechanisms when studying the cognitive effects of sleep disturbances.

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• drowsiness