Age-related widespread reorganization of whole-brain functional networks after partial sleep deprivation

Although partial sleep deprivation affects brain function and results in emotional and subjective sleepiness abnormalities, the changes in the brain functional configurations after partial sleep deprivation and their interaction effects with age remain unclear. We employed Network-Based Statistic-Predict approach to separately assess the behavioral-related brain functional reorganizations patterns in healthy young adults (N = 36, 19 females, 23.53 ± 2.36 years) and healthy older adults (N = 33, 18 females, 68.81 ± 2.41 years) after partial sleep deprivation. And further investigated the changes of segregation, integration, and balance in resting-state brain functional organization from a hierarchical modular perspective using a nested-spectral partition method. Based on edge weights and node strengths, we found that the behavior-related organization patterns recruited more connections within and between canonical resting-state functional networks in younger participants after partial sleep deprivation, shifting the whole brain into a more integrated and less segregated state, especially in the sensorimotor and visual networks. This increase in the number of functional networks was accompanied by a reversed node contribution hierarchy. In contrast, the older participants tend to exhibit nonspecific connectivity patterns after partial sleep deprivation, with reduced integration in almost all typical networks except for the sensorimotor network. These results suggest that partial sleep deprivation leads to the reorganization of widespread functional brain networks and that this effect is age-related. Statement of Significance The patterns of whole-brain functional reorganization induced by partial sleep deprivation across different age groups remain unclear. By combining Network-Based Statistics-Predict analysis and the nested-spectral partition method, we found that partial sleep deprivation leads to a significantly increased number of behavior-related functional networks and deviated toward more integrated in young adults. More importantly, the reversal of node contribution hierarchy in the young group elucidated the network reorganization process, offering direction for identifying biomarkers to predict behavior after partial sleep deprivation. In contrast, older adults exhibit functional specificity degradation and reduced whole-brain network integration after partial sleep deprivation, promoting a more segregated brain state. These findings may provide insights into the neural basis underlying behavioral changes induced by partial sleep deprivation.