Alterations in Cerebellar Functional Connectivity Are Correlated With Decreased Psychomotor Vigilance Following Total Sleep Deprivation

Previous studies have reported significant changes in functional connectivity among various brain networks following sleep restriction. The cerebellum plays an important role in information processing for motor control and provides this information to higher-order networks. However, little is known regarding how sleep deprivation influences functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex in humans. The present study aimed to investigate the changes in cerebellar functional connectivity induced by sleep deprivation, and their relationship with psychomotor vigilance. A total of 52 healthy men underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after 36 h of total sleep deprivation. Functional connectivity was evaluated using region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI analyses, using 26 cerebellar ROIs as seed regions. Psychomotor vigilance was assessed using the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT). Decreased functional connectivity was observed between cerebellar seed regions and the bilateral postcentral, left inferior frontal, left superior medial frontal, and right middle temporal gyri. In contrast, increased functional connectivity was observed between the cerebellum and the bilateral caudate. Furthermore, decrease in functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the postcentral gyrus was negatively correlated with increase in PVT reaction times, while increase in functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the bilateral caudate was positively correlated with increase in PVT reaction times. These results imply that altered cerebellar functional connectivity is associated with impairment in psychomotor vigilance induced by sleep deprivation.