Neural Link Between Depression and Bad Sleep Identified

Summary: Researchers have identified a neural link between depression and sleep problems. The study reports brain regions associated with short term memory, self and negative emotions are strongly connected in those with depression, and this may lead to bad sleep quality.

Source: University of Warwick.

The neural link between depression and sleep problems has been identified for the first time in a new study by researchers at the University of Warwick (UK) and Fudan University (China).

Professor Jianfeng Feng and Professor Edmund Rolls from Warwick’s Department of Computer Science, with Dr. Wei Cheng from Fudan University, found functional connectivity between the areas of the brain associated with short-term memory, self, and negative emotions – causing sufferers to dwell on bad thoughts and leading to a poor quality of sleep.

This research could lead to better sleep quality for people with depression, and opens up the possibility of new targeted treatments.

Analysing data from around 10,000 people, the researchers examined the neural mechanisms underlying the relation between depression and quality of sleep.

In the brains of those living with depressive problems, they discovered a strong connection between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (associated with short-term memory), the precuneus (associated with the self) and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (associated with negative emotion).

The analysis showed that these functional connectivities underlie the relation between depressive problems and sleep quality.

The researchers conclude that increased functional connectivity between these brain regions provides a neural basis for how depression is related to poor sleep quality.

Professor Jianfeng Feng, from the University of Warwick’s Department of Computer Science, said:

“The understanding that we develop here is consistent with areas of the brain involved in short-term memory (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), the self (precuneus), and negative emotion (the lateral orbitofrontal cortex) being highly connected in depression, and that this results in increased ruminating thoughts which are at least part of the mechanism that impairs sleep quality.”

Professor Edmund Rolls also commented: “This study may also have implications for a deeper understanding of depression. This important cross-validation with participants from the USA provides support for the theory that the lateral orbitofrontal cortex is a key brain area that might be targeted in the search for treatments for depression.”

Professor Jianfeng Feng comments that these findings could have important public health implications, as both sleep problems and depression affect a large number of people. He commented:

“In today’s world, poor sleep and sleep deprivation have become common problem affecting more than a third of the world’s population due to the longer work hours and commuting times, later night activity, and increased dependency on electronics. The disorder of insomnia has become the second most prevalent mental disorder.”

an alarm clock
In the brains of those living with depressive problems, they discovered a strong connection between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (associated with short-term memory), the precuneus (associated with the self) and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (associated with negative emotion). NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

“And major depressive disorder is also ranked by the World Health Organization as the leading cause of years-of-life lived with disability. According to a recent statistic, it affects approximately 216 million people (3% of the world’s population). So almost everyone in the world is related to these two problems, as a sufferer or a relative of a sufferer.”

Professor Jianfeng Feng further commented: “The relation between depression and sleep has been observed more than one hundred years, and now we have identified the neural mechanisms of how they are connected for the first time. These findings provide a neural basis for understanding how depression relates to poor sleep quality, and this in turn has implications for treatment of depression and improvement of sleep quality because of the brain areas identified.”

Depression and sleep problems often go hand-in-hand. About 75% of depressed patients report significant levels of sleep disturbance, such as difficulty of falling asleep and short duration of sleep (insomnia). People with insomnia also have a higher risk of developing depression and anxiety than those who sleep normally.

About this neuroscience research article

Source: Luke Walton – University of Warwick
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Open access research for “Functional Connectivities in the Brain That Mediate the Association Between Depressive Problems and Sleep Quality” by Wei Cheng, PhD; Edmund T. Rolls, DPhil, DSc; Hongtao Ruan, MSc; Jianfeng Feng, PhD in JAMA Psychiatry. Published July 25 2018.
doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1941

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]University of Warwick”Neural Link Between Depression and Bad Sleep Identified.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 25 July 2018.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/insomnia-depression-9608/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]University of Warwick(2018, July 25). Neural Link Between Depression and Bad Sleep Identified. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved July 25, 2018 from https://neurosciencenews.com/insomnia-depression-9608/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]University of Warwick”Neural Link Between Depression and Bad Sleep Identified.” https://neurosciencenews.com/insomnia-depression-9608/ (accessed July 25, 2018).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Functional Connectivities in the Brain That Mediate the Association Between Depressive Problems and Sleep Quality

Importance
Depression is associated with poor sleep quality. Understanding the neural connectivity that underlies both conditions and mediates the association between them is likely to lead to better-directed treatments for depression and associated sleep problems.

Objective
To identify the brain areas that mediate the association of depressive symptoms with poor sleep quality and advance understanding of the differences in brain connectivity in depression.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This study collected data from participants in the Human Connectome Project using the Adult Self-report of Depressive Problems portion of the Achenbach Adult Self-Report for Ages 18-59, a survey of self-reported sleep quality, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Cross-validation of the sleep findings was conducted in 8718 participants from the UK Biobank.

Main Outcomes and Measures Correlations between functional connectivity, scores on the Adult Self-Report of Depressive Problems, and sleep quality.

Results
A total of 1017 participants from the Human Connectome Project (of whom 546 [53.7%] were female; age range, 22 to 35 years) drawn from a general population in the United States were included. The Depressive Problems score was positively correlated with poor sleep quality (r = 0.371; P < .001). A total of 162 functional connectivity links involving areas associated with sleep, such as the precuneus, anterior cingulate cortex, and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, were identified. Of these links, 39 were also associated with the Depressive Problems scores. The brain areas with increased functional connectivity associated with both sleep and Depressive Problems scores included the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate cortices, insula, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, amygdala, temporal cortex, and precuneus. A mediation analysis showed that these functional connectivities underlie the association of the Depressive Problems score with poor sleep quality (β = 0.0139; P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance
The implication of these findings is that the increased functional connectivity between these brain regions provides a neural basis for the association between depression and poor sleep quality. An important finding was that the Depressive Problems scores in this general population were correlated with functional connectivities between areas, including the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, precuneus, angular gyrus, and temporal cortex. The findings have implications for the treatment of depression and poor sleep quality.

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