Sleep Architecture and Sleep EEG Alterations are Associated with Impaired Cognition Under Sleep Restriction

Tianxin Mao,1,2 Ya Chai,3 Bowen Guo,1 Peng Quan,3,4 Hengyi Rao1,3,5 1Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research & Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence for Information Behavior (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 4Research Center for Quality of Life and Applied Psychology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, People’s Republic of China; 5Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USACorrespondence: Hengyi Rao, Center for Functional Neuroimaging & Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Room D502, Richards Medical Research Building, 3700 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4202, USA, Email hengyi@gmail.comPurpose: Many studies have investigated the cognitive, emotional, and other impairments caused by sleep restriction. However, few studies have explored the relationship between cognitive performance and changes in sleep structure and electroencephalography (EEG) during sleep. The present study aimed to examine whether changes in sleep structure and EEG can account for cognitive impairment caused by sleep restriction.Patients and Methods: Sixteen young adults spent five consecutive nights (adaptation 9h, baseline 8h, 1st restriction 6h, 2nd restriction 6h, and recovery 10h) in a sleep laboratory, with polysomnography recordings taken during sleep. Throughout waking periods in each condition, participants completed the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT), which measures vigilant attention, and the Go/No-Go task, which measures inhibition control.Results: The results showed that sleep restriction significantly decreased the proportion of N1 and N2 sleep, increased the proportion of N3 sleep, and reduced the time spent awake after sleep onset (WASO) and sleep onset latency. Poorer performance on the PVT and Go/No Go task was associated with longer WASO, a larger proportion of N3 sleep, and a smaller proportion of N2 sleep. Additionally, the power spectral density of delta waves significantly increased after sleep restriction, and this increase predicted a decrease in vigilance and inhibition control the next day.Conclusion: These findings suggest that sleep architecture and EEG signatures may partially explain cognitive impairment caused by sleep restriction.Keywords: sleep restriction, sleep architecture, sleep EEG, vigilance, inhibition control