Key result
Sleep onset drowsiness links to early increases in 0.05 Hz BOLD oscillations within sensory cortices.
Why the study?
Does fMRI BOLD signal monitoring detect early signs of drowsiness before conventional indicators during the sleep onset period?
Observational (n=41)
Does fMRI BOLD signal monitoring detect early signs of drowsiness before conventional indicators during the sleep onset period?
p-value: p=<0.001
fMRI BOLD signal oscillations at 0.05 Hz can detect early signs of drowsiness before conventional sleep onset indicators.
May support fMRI BOLD for early drowsiness detection; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
The present use of ocular activity to enhance the temporal resolution of the classification of sleep onset period (SOP) allowed to reveal an increase in the power of oscillations in the BOLD signal at 0.05 Hz in the brain, particularly in sensory cortices, as soon as the first signs of drowsiness. These changes were evident in the "likely drowsy" state of SOP, representing early sleep-related vigilance fluctuations, often encountered even during activities like driving. Our findings show changes in the BOLD signal even before conventional indicators of sleep onset.
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Gaez et al. (2025) conducted an observational in Healthy participants (Sleep onset period) (n=41). Resting-state fMRI with eyelid activity monitoring vs. Awake state (within-subject comparison across drowsiness states) was evaluated on Power spectral density of BOLD oscillations at 0.05 Hz (PSD0.05) across drowsiness states (p=<0.001). Drowsiness during the sleep onset period, detected via eyelid activity, was associated with an early increase in the power of BOLD signal oscillations at 0.05 Hz, particularly in sensory cortices.
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