Bidirectional Association Between Sleep and Brain Atrophy in Aging

Authors

KOKOŠOVÁ Viktória FILIP Pavel KEC David BALÁŽ Marek

Year of publication 2021
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Medicine

Citation
Web https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2021.726662
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.726662
Keywords brain aging; sleep; neuroimaging; structural brain integrity; functional brain integrity
Description Human brain aging is characterized by the gradual deterioration of its function and structure, affected by the interplay of a multitude of causal factors. The sleep, a periodically repeating state of reversible unconsciousness characterized by distinct electrical brain activity, is crucial for maintaining brain homeostasis. Indeed, insufficient sleep was associated with accelerated brain atrophy and impaired brain functional connectivity. Concurrently, alteration of sleep-related transient electrical events in senescence was correlated with structural and functional deterioration of brain regions responsible for their generation, implying the interconnectedness of sleep and brain structure. This review discusses currently available data on the link between human brain aging and sleep derived from various neuroimaging and neurophysiological methods. We advocate the notion of a mutual relationship between the sleep structure and age-related alterations of functional and structural brain integrity, pointing out the position of high-quality sleep as a potent preventive factor of early brain aging and neurodegeneration. However, further studies are needed to reveal the causality of the relationship between sleep and brain aging.

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