The effect of sleep and circadian rhythms on dynamic brain networks

Mason, Sophie Lauren ORCID: 0000-0001-9646-8027 (2023). The effect of sleep and circadian rhythms on dynamic brain networks. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The daily oscillations of sleep, fatigue, and performance tightly interconnect and dominate almost all aspects of life. However, unique to humans, our 24 h world is causing us to routinely ignore our circadian clock, resulting in people being increasingly at odds with their biological drive for sleep. This misalignment between our endogenous drive to sleep and daily commitments increasingly restricts sleep timing, which can lead to increased time awake, sleep debt and higher levels of fatigue. The resultant effect on our body and in particular our brain is a key research area in chronobiology as well as sleep and circadian research. Network analysis is a key tool in understanding the complex macroscale interactions in the brain. Therefore, this thesis will investigate the effect of chronotype on functional brain networks derived from fMRI through classification pipelines and show evidence of differentiable information between the functional networks of extreme chronotypes. Also, this thesis will investigate features of functional networks which are associated with resilience to sleep deprivation. In particular, this thesis will highlight the association between the mean node strength of functional networks, calculated from a baseline EEG acquisition before sleep deprivation has occurred, with the effect of sleep deprivation as measured using psychomotor vigilance tests.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):