title: Impact of sleep quality on amygdala reactivity, negative affect, and perceived stress.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Research demonstrates a negative impact of sleep disturbance on mood and affect; however, the biological mechanisms mediating these links are poorly understood. Amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli has emerged as one potential pathway. Here, we investigate the influence of self-reported sleep quality on associations between threat-related amygdala reactivity and measures of negative affect and perceived stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses on data from 299 participants (125 men, 50.5% white, mean [standard deviation] age = 19.6 [1.3] years) who completed the Duke Neurogenetics Study were conducted. Participants completed several self-report measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Threat-related (i.e., angry and fearful facial expressions) amygdala reactivity was assayed using blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Global sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Amygdala reactivity to fearful facial expressions predicted greater depressive symptoms and higher perceived stress in poor (β values = 0.18-1.86, p values < .05) but not good sleepers (β values = -0.13 to -0.01, p values > .05). In sex-specific analyses, men reporting poorer global sleep quality showed a significant association between amygdala reactivity and levels of depression and perceived stress (β values = 0.29-0.44, p values < .05). In contrast, no significant associations were observed in men reporting good global sleep quality or in women, irrespective of sleep quality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides novel evidence that self-reported sleep quality moderates the relationships between amygdala reactivity, negative affect, and perceived stress, particularly among men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. prathera@chc.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Aric A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Prather
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bogdan
authors.forename: Ahmad R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Hariri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000786:Anger; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005149:Facial Expression; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: amygdala; depression; negative affect; sleep; stress