Disrupted Small-world Networks are Associated with Decreased Vigilant Attention after Total Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation critically affects vigilant attention. Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed altered inter-regional functional connectivity after sleep deprivation, which may disrupt topological properties of brain functional networks. However, little is known about alterations in the topology of intrinsic connectivity and its involvement in attention performance after sleep deprivation. In the current study, we investigated the topological properties of brain networks derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging of 26 healthy men in rested wakefulness (RW) state and after 36 h of total sleep deprivation (TSD). In the predefined sparsity threshold range, both global and nodal network properties were evaluated based on graph theory analysis. Vigilant attention was assessed using the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) before and after TSD. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation analyses were conducted to explore the association between altered network properties and changed PVT performance after TSD. At the global level, the brain functional networks in the TSD state showed a significantly lower small-world coefficient than RW, with decreased global efficiency. At the nodal level, the altered regions were selectively distributed in frontoparietal networks, sensorimotor networks, temporal regions, and salience networks. More specifically, the altered clustering coefficient in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and insula, and altered local efficiency in pSTS were further associated with PVT performance after TSD. Our results suggest that the topological properties of brain functional networks are disrupted, and aberrant topology of temporal networks and salience networks may act as neural signatures underlying the vigilant attention impairments after TSD.