Breakdown of Thalamocortical Connectivity Under Sleep Deprivation: Implications for Cognitive Arousal and Transient Sleep States

Functional neuroimaging conducted at regular intervals throughout sleep deprivation reveals key thalamocortical connectivity changes that characterize the transition from a well-rested to a sleep-deprived state. Decreased thalamic connectivity is distributed across sensorimotor, visual, and limbic networks, including subcortical structures such as the parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus. Associated changes in globally efficiency closely track group-level deficits in psychomotor vigilance, suggesting that thalamic-cortical interactions play a role in wake-maintenance during sleep deprivation. These patterns of connectivity disruptions may reflect transient, sleep-like states arising from unstable wakefulness. Causal modeling indicates impaired self-inhibition within the thalamus is a dominant feature of sleep deprivation, which likely contributes to wake-state instability and attentional lapses.