Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Feb 19, 2024; 14(2): 315-329
Published online Feb 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i2.315
Alterations of sleep deprivation on brain function: A coordinate-based resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging meta-analysis
Qin Zhang, Yong-Zhe Hou, Hui Ding, Yan-Ping Shu, Jing Li, Xi-Zhao Chen, Jia-Lin Li, Qin Lou, Dai-Xing Wang
Qin Zhang, Hui Ding, Jing Li, Xi-Zhao Chen, Qin Lou, Dai-Xing Wang, Department of Radiology, The Second People’s Hospital of Guizhou Province, Guiyang 550000, Guizhou Province, China
Qin Zhang, Department of Radiology, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guiyang 550000, Guizhou Province, China
Yong-Zhe Hou, Yan-Ping Shu, Department of Psychiatry of Women and Children, The Second People’s Hospital of Guizhou Province, Guiyang 550000, Guizhou Province, China
Jia-Lin Li, Medical Humanities College, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550000, Guizhou Province, China
Co-first authors: Qin Zhang and Yong-Zhe Hou.
Co-corresponding authors: Hui Ding and Yan-Ping Shu.
Author contributions: Zhang Q, Hou YZ, Chen XZ, Li J, Wang DX, and Lou Q designed the experiment and wrote the manuscript; Zhang Q, Hou YZ, and Li JL analyzed the data; Ding H and Shu YP contributed to the critical revision and editing of the article; Zhang Q and Hou YZ contributed equally to this manuscript and are therefore listed as co-first authors; Ding H and Shu YP contributed equally to this manuscript and are therefore listed as co-corresponding authors; this designation as co-corresponding authors underscores our shared responsibilities in handling correspondence, communicating with peers, and providing essential guidance throughout the research process. Our equal commitment and involvement affirm our joint leadership and contribution to this significant scientific endeavor.
Supported by the Guizhou Province Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ethnic Medicine Science and Technology Research Special Project, No. QZYY-2020-069; Health Commission of Guizhou Province, No. gzwjkj2019-1-203; 2024 Guizhou Provincial Health Commission Science and Technology Fund Project; Guizhou Province Science and Technology Plan Project, No. ZK-2023-195; 2021 Health Commission of Guizhou Province Project, No. gzwkj2021-150; and 2020 National Clinical Key Specialized Projects, No. 2020-128.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui Ding, Doctor, Professor, Department of Radiology, The Second People’s Hospital of Guizhou Province, No. 206 South Section of Xintian Avenue, Yunyan District, Guiyang 550000, Guizhou Province, China. 857747438@qq.com
Received: November 29, 2023
Peer-review started: November 30, 2023
First decision: December 11, 2023
Revised: December 21, 2023
Accepted: January 3, 2024
Article in press: January 3, 2024
Published online: February 19, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Sleep deprivation is a prevalent issue that impacts cognitive function. Although numerous neuroimaging studies have explored the neural correlates of sleep loss, inconsistencies persist in the reported results, necessitating an investigation into the consistent brain functional changes resulting from sleep loss.

AIM

To establish the consistency of brain functional alterations associated with sleep deprivation through systematic searches of neuroimaging databases. Two meta-analytic methods, signed differential mapping (SDM) and activation likelihood estimation (ALE), were employed to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data.

METHODS

A systematic search performed according to PRISMA guidelines was conducted across multiple databases through July 29, 2023. Studies that met specific inclu-sion criteria, focused on healthy subjects with acute sleep deprivation and reported whole-brain functional data in English were considered. A total of 21 studies were selected for SDM and ALE meta-analyses.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies, including 23 experiments and 498 subjects, were included. Compared to pre-sleep deprivation, post-sleep deprivation brain function was associated with increased gray matter in the right corpus callosum and decreased activity in the left medial frontal gyrus and left inferior parietal lobule. SDM revealed increased brain functional activity in the left striatum and right central posterior gyrus and decreased activity in the right cerebellar gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, corpus callosum, and right cuneus.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis consistently identified brain regions affected by sleep deprivation, notably the left medial frontal gyrus and corpus callosum, shedding light on the neuropathology of sleep deprivation and offering insights into its neurological impact.

Keywords: Sleep deprivation, Resting-state-functional magnetic resonance imaging, Activation likelihood estimation-meta, Signed differential mapping-meta

Core Tip: This meta-analysis revealed consistent brain functional changes resulting from sleep deprivation, revealing notable alterations in the left medial frontal gyrus and corpus callosum. These findings offer crucial insights into the neurological impact of sleep loss and highlight specific brain regions affected by sleep deprivation, which may aid in understanding its neuropathological implications.