Where is stressed processed in brain during sleep? -- A Neuroimaging study into stress-related abnormalities in brain activity during sleep

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K20141
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 59040:Nutrition science and health science-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University of Advanced Science
• Principal Investigator: LIANG ZILU 京都先端科学大学, 工学部, 講師 (10782807)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: fNIRS / stress / sleep / brain imaging / personal informatics / wearable computing / ubiquitous computing

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study explored the associations between bedtime stress and the hemodynamics in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the first sleep cycle. Stress biomarkers including salivary cortisol and sIgA were measured. Perceived stress level was rated on a 1-10 Likert scale right after the collection of the salivary samples. The hemodynamics of the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) was measured using a wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device. Stress was found to correlate to the hemodynamics in the mid-DLPFC, the caudal-DLPFC, and the left RLPFC. The relationships between stress and these PFC subregions depends on the stress indicator adopted. Our finding provides supplementary support to the role of the PFC in processing stress.

Free Research Field

応用健康科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

This study expands the scope of stress studies by examining how sleep modulates brain’s response to stress during sleep. The findings will inform the development of new interventions for stress-related sleep problems.