title: fMRI identifies chronotype-specific brain activation associated with attention to motion--why we need to know when subjects go to bed.
abstract: Human cognition relies on attentional capacities which, among others, are influenced by factors like tiredness or mood. Based on their inherent preferences in sleep and wakefulness, individuals can be classified as specific "chronotypes". The present study investigated how early, intermediate and late chronotypes (EC, IC, LC) differ neurally on an attention-to-motion task. Twelve EC, 18 IC and 17 LC were included into the study. While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans, subjects looked at vertical bars in an attention-to-motion task. In the STATIONARY condition, subjects focused on a central fixation cross. During Fix-MOVING and Attend-MOVING, bars were moving horizontally. Only during the Attend-MOVING, subjects were required to attend to changes in the velocity of bars and indicate those by button presses. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA probed group by attentional load effects. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), insula and anterior cingulate cortex showed group by attention specific activations. Specifically, EC and LC presented attenuated DLPFC activation under high attentional load (Attend-MOVING), while EC showed less anterior insula activation than IC. LC compared to IC exhibited attenuation of superior parietal cortex. Our study reveals that individual sleep preferences are associated with characteristic brain activation in areas crucial for attention and bodily awareness. These results imply that considering sleep preferences in neuroimaging studies is crucial when administering cognitive tasks. Our study also has socio-economic implications. Task performance in non-optimal times of the day (e.g. shift workers), may result in cognitive impairments leading to e.g. increased error rates and slower reaction times.
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-4), Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; JARA, Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: m.reske@fz-juelich.de.
authors: Martina
authors: M
authors: Reske
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-4), Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; JARA, Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Rosenberg
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-4), Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
authors: Sabrina
authors: S
authors: Plapp
authors: JARA, Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors: Thilo
authors: T
authors: Kellermann
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-4), Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; JARA, Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors: N Jon
authors: NJ
authors: Shah
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; Chronotype; Wakefulness; fMRI