Journal Article

Breakdown of long-range temporal dependence in default mode and attention networks during deep sleep

Laufs, Helmut, Morzelewski, Astrid, von Wegner, Frederic, Jahnke, Kolja, Tagliazucchi, Enzo, Brodbeck, Verena

2013

Overview

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.

• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences,National Acad Sciences
• Subject: Analysis of Variance / Attention - physiology / Autocorrelation / Awareness - physiology / Biological and medical sciences / Biological Sciences / Blood / brain / Connectivity / Consciousness / Correlations / Electroencephalography / Eye Movements - physiology / eyes / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Humans / Magnetic Resonance Imaging / memory / Models, Biological / NMR / Nuclear magnetic resonance / oxygen / Oxygen - blood / Physical Sciences / Sleep / Sleep - physiology / Sleep stages / Sleep. Vigilance / Statistical variance / Time Factors / Time series / Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs / Wakefulness / Wakefulness - physiology