Irregular sleep habits, regional grey matter volumes, and psychological functioning in adolescents

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay
  • National Institute for Health and Welfare
  • University of Helsinki
  • EPS Barthélémy Durand
  • Tampere University
  • Heidelberg University 
  • Trinity College Dublin
  • University of Hamburg
  • King's College London (KCL)
  • University of Montreal
  • NeuroSpin
  • Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
  • University of Vermont
  • University of Nottingham
  • Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
  • Bloorview Research Institute
  • Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris
  • CENIR at ICM Institute
  • Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH)
  • INSERM - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale
  • TUD Dresden University of Technology

Abstract

Changing sleep rhythms in adolescents often lead to sleep deficits and a delay in sleep timing between weekdays and weekends. The adolescent brain, and in particular the rapidly developing structures involved in emotional control, are vulnerable to external and internal factors. In our previous study in adolescents at age 14, we observed a strong relationship between weekend sleep schedules and regional medial prefrontal cortex grey matter volumes. Here, we aimed to assess whether this relationship remained in this group of adolescents of the general population at the age of 16 (n = 101; mean age 16.8 years; 55% girls). We further examined grey matter volumes in the hippocampi and the amygdalae, calculated with voxel-based morphometry. In addition, we investigated the relationships between sleep habits, assessed with self-reports, and regional grey matter volumes, and psychological functioning, assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and tests on working memory and impulsivity. Later weekend wake-up times were associated with smaller grey matter volumes in the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdalae, and greater weekend delays in wake-up time were associated with smaller grey matter volumes in the right hippocampus and amygdala. The medial prefrontal cortex region mediated the correlation between weekend wake up time and externalising symptoms. Paying attention to regular sleep habits during adolescence could act as a protective factor against the emergence of psychopathology via enabling favourable brain development.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0243720
Pages (from-to)1-12
Number of pages12
JournalPloS one
Volume16
Issue number2
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 10 Feb 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 33566829
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890711

Keywords