The aging of humans is typically correlated with many functions and natural activities of the body. Among the patterns that could show signs of an escalating age are cognitive abilities, functional neural networks, and even sleeping patterns. Although there are pieces that serve as hints to the correlation between these aspects and human aging, only a few evidence was gathered throughout the history of neurological studies.
Sleeping Pattern and Quality Delicate in Order Adults
To understand more about the deep connection between the impacts of sleeping on the capacity of brain functions, or the functional network connectivity, and the cognitive function in adults, China's Southwest University recently conducted comprehensive research. Based on their findings, the FNC and cognitive function are modulated based on the sleeping pattern and quality experienced by the specified age group.
Southwest University and Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Psychology - Key Laboratory of Mental health expert Jing Yu said in a MedicalXpress report that initial papers were able to find how the functional connectivity of the brain's resting state predicts the performance of cognitive functions in elderlies.
The expert added that to contribute to the previous findings, their team invested in studying how the aspect of prediction could also be modulated through the sleeping activity of older adults. The area was tackled by the authors of the study as it is commonly disrupted upon incurring a higher level of age and the transition of cognitive function.
Correlation of Sleep with Elderlies' Cognitive Abilities and Functional Network Connectivity
The study was made possible through the help of data that were gathered from over 100 healthy participants that are also members of the older adult age group. Throughout the investigation, the subjects were given a questionnaire that required them to assess their sleeping quality and experience. The assessment model used in the experiment was patterned based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index or PSQI. The questions included several inquiries about sleep disturbances, duration, quality, medications, customary efficiency, and daytime dysfunction.
Alongside the questionnaire, the participants were scanned with MRIs for a full perspective of their neurological organs. The results from the MRI were compared with the static and dynamic FNC data, and the produced analysis was used to determine and predict the cognitive function in older adults. The general information from the older adult subjects revealed that the dynamic FNC in an individual could truly predict the performance of their cognitive function. Aside from that, the association was confirmed to be modulated by a person's sleep quality.
The study's results are expected to pave the way to upcoming neurological studies linked with aging. Among the fields that the study may contribute is the development of medicinal and treatment approaches over the cognitive deficit in older adults.
The authors of the study hope that by the findings slated by this new research, interventions over cognitive-related disorders ranging from mild to severe disorders will be attended in the future without corresponding limitations. The study was published in the journal Neuroscience, titled "Sleep Quality Modulates the Association between Dynamic Functional Network Connectivity and Cognitive Function in Healthy Older Adults."
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