Breakdown of long-range temporal dependence in default mode and attention networks during deep sleep
Enzo Tagliazucchi, Frederic von Wegner, Astrid Morzelewski, Verena Brodbeck, Kolja Jahnke, Helmut Laufs
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences September 3, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1312848110 via OpenAlex
Summary
A conscious brain integrates information across segregated functional modules and also maintains long-term memory in its neural activity. This study examined temporal memory in blood oxygen level-dependent signals across the human nonrapid eye movement sleep cycle. Temporal dependence gradually decreased from wakefulness to deep nonrapid eye movement sleep, particularly in default mode and attention networks. Although spatial organization of spontaneous fluctuations remained nontrivial even during deep sleep, temporal complexity decreased in specific brain regions. These findings suggest that long-range temporal dependence may be a characteristic of the spontaneous conscious mentation that occurs during wakeful rest.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants across the nonrapid eye movement sleep cycle |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Wakefulness Sleep system call Eye movement Neuroscience |
| Citations | 278 |
| Key finding | Long-range temporal dependence in neural activity decreases from wakefulness to deep nonrapid eye movement sleep, especially in default mode and attention networks. |
Abstract
The integration of segregated brain functional modules is a prerequisite for conscious awareness during wakeful rest. Here, we test the hypothesis that temporal integration, measured as long-term memory in the history of neural activity, is another important quality underlying conscious awareness. For this aim, we study the temporal memory of blood oxygen level-dependent signals across the human nonrapid eye movement sleep cycle. Results reveal that this property gradually decreases from wakefulness to deep nonrapid eye movement sleep and that such decreases affect areas identified with default mode and attention networks. Although blood oxygen level-dependent spontaneous fluctuations exhibit nontrivial spatial organization, even during deep sleep, they also display a decreased temporal complexity in specific brain regions. Conversely, this result suggests that long-range temporal dependence might be an attribute of the spontaneous conscious mentation performed during wakeful rest.