TY - JOUR
T1 - Increased Stability and Breakdown of Brain Effective Connectivity during Slow-Wave Sleep
T2 - Mechanistic Insights from Whole-Brain Computational Modelling
AU - Jobst, Beatrice M.
AU - Hindriks, Rikkert
AU - Laufs, Helmut
AU - Tagliazucchi, Enzo
AU - Hahn, Gerald
AU - Ponce-Alvarez, Adrián
AU - Stevner, Angus B.A.
AU - Kringelbach, Morten L.
AU - Deco, Gustavo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Recent research has found that the human sleep cycle is characterised by changes in spatiotemporal patterns of brain activity. Yet, we are still missing a mechanistic explanation of the local neuronal dynamics underlying these changes. We used whole-brain computational modelling to study the differences in global brain functional connectivity and synchrony of fMRI activity in healthy humans during wakefulness and slow-wave sleep. We applied a whole-brain model based on the normal form of a supercritical Hopf bifurcation and studied the dynamical changes when adapting the bifurcation parameter for all brain nodes to best match wakefulness and slow-wave sleep. Furthermore, we analysed differences in effective connectivity between the two states. In addition to significant changes in functional connectivity, synchrony and metastability, this analysis revealed a significant shift of the global dynamic working point of brain dynamics, from the edge of the transition between damped to sustained oscillations during wakefulness, to a stable focus during slow-wave sleep. Moreover, we identified a significant global decrease in effective interactions during slow-wave sleep. These results suggest a mechanism for the empirical functional changes observed during slow-wave sleep, namely a global shift of the brain's dynamic working point leading to increased stability and decreased effective connectivity.
AB - Recent research has found that the human sleep cycle is characterised by changes in spatiotemporal patterns of brain activity. Yet, we are still missing a mechanistic explanation of the local neuronal dynamics underlying these changes. We used whole-brain computational modelling to study the differences in global brain functional connectivity and synchrony of fMRI activity in healthy humans during wakefulness and slow-wave sleep. We applied a whole-brain model based on the normal form of a supercritical Hopf bifurcation and studied the dynamical changes when adapting the bifurcation parameter for all brain nodes to best match wakefulness and slow-wave sleep. Furthermore, we analysed differences in effective connectivity between the two states. In addition to significant changes in functional connectivity, synchrony and metastability, this analysis revealed a significant shift of the global dynamic working point of brain dynamics, from the edge of the transition between damped to sustained oscillations during wakefulness, to a stable focus during slow-wave sleep. Moreover, we identified a significant global decrease in effective interactions during slow-wave sleep. These results suggest a mechanism for the empirical functional changes observed during slow-wave sleep, namely a global shift of the brain's dynamic working point leading to increased stability and decreased effective connectivity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021890472&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-04522-x
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-04522-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 28680119
AN - SCOPUS:85021890472
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 7
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 4634
ER -
