State-dependent and region-specific alterations of cerebellar connectivity across stable human wakefulness and NREM sleep states
Jiayi Liu,
Guangyuan Zou,
Jing Xu,
Shuqin Zhou,
Lang Qin,
Hongqiang Sun,
Qihong Zou,
Jia-Hong Gao
Affiliations
Jiayi Liu
Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China; Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advance Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Guangyuan Zou
Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China; Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advance Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Jing Xu
Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of International Business, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
Shuqin Zhou
Nanjing Normal University, College of Psychology, Nanjing, China
Lang Qin
Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China; Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advance Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Hongqiang Sun
Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China
Qihong Zou
Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China; Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advance Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Corresponding authors at: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China 100871.
Jia-Hong Gao
Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China; Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advance Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing, China; Corresponding authors at: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China 100871.
Sleep regulation and functioning may rely on systematic coordination throughout the whole brain, including the cerebellum. However, whether and how interactions between the cerebellum and other brain regions vary across sleep stages remain poorly understood. Here, using simultaneous EEG-fMRI recordings captured from 73 participants during wakefulness and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, we constructed cerebellar connectivity among intrinsic functional networks with intra-cerebellar, neocortical and subcortical regions. We uncovered that cerebellar connectivity exhibited sleep-dependent alterations: slight differences between wakefulness and N1/N2 sleep and greater changes in N3 sleep than other states. Region-specific cerebellar connectivity changes between N2 sleep and N3 sleep were also revealed: general breakdown of intra-cerebellar connectivity, enhancement of limbic-cerebellar connectivity and alterations of cerebellar connectivity with spatially specific neocortices. Further correlation analysis showed that functional connectivity between the cerebellar Control II network and regions (including the insula, hippocampus, and amygdala) correlated with delta power during N3 and beta power during N2 sleep. These findings systematically reveal altered cerebellar connectivity among intrinsic networks from wakefulness to deep sleep and highlight the potential role of the cerebellum in sleep regulation and functioning.
