The Brain Structure And Genetic Mechanisms Underlying The Nonlinear Association Between Sleep Duration Cognition And Mental Health Yuzhu Li Barbara J Sahakian Jujiao Kang Christelle Langley Wei Zhang Chao Xie Shitong Xiang Jintai Yu Wei Cheng Jianfeng Feng by Yuzhu Li & Barbara J. Sahakian & Jujiao Kang & Christelle Langley & Wei Zhang & Chao Xie & Shitong Xiang & Jintai Yu & Wei Cheng & Jianfeng Feng 101038/S43587022002102 instant download after payment.

Sleep duration, psychiatric disorders and dementias are closely interconnected in older adults. However, the underlying genetic mechanisms and brain structural changes are unknown. Using data from the UK Biobank for participants primarily of European ancestry aged 38–73 years, including 94% white people, we identified a nonlinear association between sleep, with approximately 7 h as the optimal sleep duration, and genetic and cognitive factors, brain structure, and mental health as key measures. The brain regions most significantly underlying this interconnection included the precentral cortex, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Longitudinal analysis revealed that both insufficient and excessive sleep duration were significantly associated with a decline in cognition on follow up. Furthermore, mediation analysis and structural equation modeling identified a unified model incorporating polygenic risk score (PRS), sleep, brain structure, cognition and mental health. This indicates that possible genetic mechanisms and brain structural changes may underlie the nonlinear relationship between sleep duration and cognition and mental health.Sleep serves critical functions in cognitive processing and maintenance of psychological health, including consolidation of memories1 and emotion processing2. Sleep also provides a critical neuroprotective function through the clearance of waste products3. Changes in sleep duration, a critical sleep characteristic, have been linked to several diseases and psychiatric disorders, including cardio-cerebral vascular disease and dementia4–6. Sleep duration of less than 4–5h per night is associated with increased mortality7. Prolonged sleep duration has been recognized as a potential marker of incident dementia8.Alteration in sleep patterns, including difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, decreased quantity and quality of sleep and decreased sleep efficiency are important characteristics of the aging process9–11.