Year: 2011
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Sleep loss produces abnormal increases in reward-seeking, though the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood. In this study we examined the impact of sleep deprivation upon reward neural circuitry in healthy young adults using fMRI and a well-validated monetary reward paradigm. We found that activity in the ventral striatum and medial prefrontal cortex were significantly greater during reward trials under sleep-deprived versus rested conditions. Our findings suggest that sleep loss produces aberrant functioning in reward neural circuitry, possibly resulting in over-valuation of positively-reinforcing stimuli. In addition, sleep deprivation appeared to induce a failure to deactivate midline default-mode network structures during task performance, potentially interfering with efficient reward-related decision making. We believe these findings demonstrate how chronic sleep loss might contribute to the development and maintenance of psychiatric conditions in which sleep disturbance and abnormal reward behaviors co-occur.
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2243367031