Effects of sleep deprivation on resting state networks

Among the resting state networks, the ‘default mode network’ and its anticorrelated network have attracted augmented attention lately. These networks are hypothesized to present key roles in processing internally and externally directed awareness. It has been reported that depressive and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as alterations of vigilance and pharmacological intervention may influence the integrity of these networks. In human beings, even a single night of partial sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on affective processing and higher cognitive brain functions. Sleep pressure is therefore considered a basic physiological constraint of brain function. However, little is known about the impact of sleep deprivation on resting state functional connectivity. We hypothesized that effects of one night of late partial sleep deprivation in these intrinsically coupled networks can be detected by resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging.