Neural mechanisms linking sleep disturbances to motor and cognitive impairments in Parkinson’s disease: Evidence from resting-state and task-based fNIRS

IF 2.7 4区医学 Q3 NEUROSCIENCES

Brain Research Pub Date : 2025-05-08 DOI:10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149681

Hai-Yang Wang , Zhanhua Liang , Zhongrui Yan , Yiming Liu

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Abstract

Background

Sleep disturbances are common non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), negatively affecting daily functioning, exacerbating motor symptoms, and contributing to cognitive impairment. However, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are not well understood. This study utilized resting-state and task-based functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore how sleep disturbances affect brain function in PD patients at the neural level.

Methods

Sixty PD patients were recruited, including 30 with sleep disturbances and 30 without. Resting-state fNIRS and clinical assessments were used to analyze spontaneous brain activity and functional connectivity. We also examined the mediating role of brain activity in the relationship between sleep disturbances and motor symptoms. The verbal fluency test (VFT) was employed to investigate changes in brain mechanisms related to executive function in patients with sleep disturbances.

Results

Resting-state analysis revealed significantly increased fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in PD patients with sleep disturbances. fALFF values were negatively correlated with sleep quality and positively with motor symptom severity. Mediation analysis indicated that spontaneous neural activity in the mPFC partially mediated the relationship between sleep disturbances and motor symptoms. Task-based analysis showed reduced activation in the mPFC and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during the VFT in patients with sleep disturbances, indicating impaired executive function.

Conclusion

Sleep disturbances in PD could be associated with exacerbated motor symptoms and may impair executive function by affecting spontaneous and task-related neural activity in the mPFC. These findings highlight mPFC dysfunction as a potential biomarker for targeted therapies.

Abstract Image

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帕金森病患者睡眠障碍与运动和认知障碍的神经机制：来自静息状态和基于任务的fNIRS的证据

背景：睡眠障碍是帕金森病（PD）常见的非运动症状，对日常功能产生负面影响，加剧运动症状，并导致认知障碍。然而，潜在的神经生物学机制尚不清楚。本研究利用静息状态和任务型功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）从神经层面探讨睡眠障碍对PD患者脑功能的影响。方法选取60例PD患者，其中30例有睡眠障碍，30例无睡眠障碍。静息状态fNIRS和临床评估用于分析自发性脑活动和功能连通性。我们还研究了大脑活动在睡眠障碍和运动症状之间的关系中的中介作用。采用语言流畅性测试（VFT）研究睡眠障碍患者执行功能相关脑机制的变化。结果静息状态分析显示PD伴睡眠障碍患者内侧前额叶皮层（mPFC）低频波动分数幅值（fALFF）显著增加。fALFF值与睡眠质量负相关，与运动症状严重程度正相关。中介分析表明，在睡眠障碍和运动症状之间的关系中，mPFC的自发神经活动起到部分中介作用。基于任务的分析显示，在睡眠障碍患者的VFT期间，mPFC和眶额皮质（OFC）的激活减少，表明执行功能受损。结论PD患者的睡眠障碍可能与运动症状加重有关，并可能通过影响mPFC的自发性和任务相关神经活动而损害执行功能。这些发现强调了mPFC功能障碍作为靶向治疗的潜在生物标志物。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Brain Research 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

3.40%

发文量

268

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： An international multidisciplinary journal devoted to fundamental research in the brain sciences. Brain Research publishes papers reporting interdisciplinary investigations of nervous system structure and function that are of general interest to the international community of neuroscientists. As is evident from the journals name, its scope is broad, ranging from cellular and molecular studies through systems neuroscience, cognition and disease. Invited reviews are also published; suggestions for and inquiries about potential reviews are welcomed. With the appearance of the final issue of the 2011 subscription, Vol. 67/1-2 (24 June 2011), Brain Research Reviews has ceased publication as a distinct journal separate from Brain Research. Review articles accepted for Brain Research are now published in that journal.