Sleep disturbances are accompanied by structural changes in brain regions responsible for attention, motivation and emotion, according to researchers at Florida International University who pooled the results of 57 tomography studies, infohub.kz reports.
The large scientific meta-analysis was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Its findings explain why chronic sleep problems affect people's concentration and behavior. According to estimates, between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders.
Researchers at the Center for Children and Families at Florida International University (FIU) combined and compared data from 57 scientific papers that examined the brains of adults using neuroimaging methods.
The study looked at two broad categories of disorders: dyssomnias, which include insomnia and sleep apnea, and parasomnias, which include sleepwalking, nightmares and night terrors. The scientists found that both groups of disorders are associated with a reduction in the volume of the thalamus, in particular its posterior part, the pulvinar. This area plays a central role in processing sensory signals, sustaining attention and cognitive control, which is directly linked to slower reactions and the risk of errors in patients.
In addition, parasomnias were found to involve changes in the posterior cingulate cortex, which regulates motivation and emotional state. Dyssomnias, meanwhile, showed no isolated structural abnormalities.
Lead author Catherine Crooks and senior author Matthew Sutherland stress that these patterns could help in developing personalized treatments, although scientists have yet to determine whether sleep disorders cause these damages or develop against their background.