Circadian modulation of human reward function: Is there an evidentiary signal in existing neuroimaging studies?

Quantifying Apathy in Late-Life Depression: Unraveling Neurobehavioral Links Through Daily Activity Patterns and Brain Connectivity Analysis

BACKGROUND

Better understanding apathy in late-life depression would help improve prediction of poor prognosis of diseases such as dementia. Actimetry provides an objective and ecological measure of apathy from patients' daily motor activity. We aimed to determine whether patterns of motor activity were associated with apathy and brain connectivity in networks that underlie goal-directed behaviors.

METHODS

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging were collected from 38 nondemented participants with late-life depression. Apathy was evaluated using the diagnostic criteria for apathy, Apathy Evaluation Scale, and Apathy Motivation Index. Functional principal components (fPCs) of motor activity were derived from actimetry recordings taken for 72 hours. Associations between fPCs and apathy were estimated by linear regression. Subnetworks whose connectivity was significantly associated with fPCs were identified via threshold-free network-based statistics. The relationship between apathy and microstructure metrics was estimated along fibers by diffusion tensor imaging and a multicompartment model called neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging via tractometry.

RESULTS

We found 2 fPCs associated with apathy: mean diurnal activity, negatively associated with Apathy Evaluation Scale scores, and an early chronotype, negatively associated with Apathy Motivation Index scores. Mean diurnal activity was associated with increased connectivity in the default mode, cingulo-opercular, and frontoparietal networks, while chronotype was associated with a more heterogeneous connectivity pattern in the same networks. We did not find significant associations between microstructural metrics and fPCs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that mean diurnal activity and chronotype could provide indirect ambulatory measures of apathy in late-life depression, associated with modified functional connectivity of brain networks that underlie goal-directed behaviors.

Deficits in brain default mode network connectivity mediate the relationship between poor sleep quality and anxiety severity

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Chronic insomnia disorder (CID) is a prevalent sleep disorder that frequently cooccurs with anxiety. The association between insomnia and anxiety has been established; however, the neurobiological basis of this relationship remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the neural markers of CID patients with and without anxiety and to determine whether specific neural connectivity mediates the relationship between insomnia and anxiety.

METHODS

This study included 180 participants, comprising CID patients with anxiety (CID-A), CID patients without anxiety (CID-NA), and good sleep controls. All participants completed self-reported measures of sleep quality and anxiety severity and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain functional integration was measured using functional connectivity density (FCD) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). Correlation and mediation analyses were used to examine the relationships among brain connectivity, sleep quality, and anxiety severity.

RESULTS

The CID-NA and CID-A groups showed decreased local FCD in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and disrupted rsFC between the precuneus and other brain regions. Only the CID-A group exhibited altered long-range FCD in the precuneus and the rsFC between the anterior default mode network (DMN, e.g. mPFC) and posterior DMN (e.g. precuneus). Mediation analysis revealed DMN dysconnectivity underlying the association between poor sleep quality and anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified shared and distinct brain circuit disruptions in the CID-NA and CID-A groups, with deficits in DMN connectivity as a potential neural mechanism through which disrupted sleep augments anxiety. These findings may facilitate the development of personalized therapies for insomnia and associated anxiety problems.

Comprehensive assessment of sleep duration, insomnia, and brain structure within the UK Biobank cohort

STUDY OBJECTIVES

To assess for associations between sleeping more than or less than recommended by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), and self-reported insomnia, with brain structure.

METHODS

Data from the UK Biobank cohort were analyzed (N between 9K and 32K, dependent on availability, aged 44 to 82 years). Sleep measures included self-reported adherence to NSF guidelines on sleep duration (sleeping between 7 and 9 hours per night), and self-reported difficulty falling or staying asleep (insomnia). Brain structural measures included global and regional cortical or subcortical morphometry (thickness, surface area, volume), global and tract-related white matter microstructure, brain age gap (difference between chronological age and age estimated from brain scan), and total volume of white matter lesions.

RESULTS

Longer-than-recommended sleep duration was associated with lower overall grey and white matter volumes, lower global and regional cortical thickness and volume measures, higher brain age gap, higher volume of white matter lesions, higher mean diffusivity globally and in thalamic and association fibers, and lower volume of the hippocampus. Shorter-than-recommended sleep duration was related to higher global and cerebellar white matter volumes, lower global and regional cortical surface areas, and lower fractional anisotropy in projection fibers. Self-reported insomnia was associated with higher global gray and white matter volumes, and with higher volumes of the amygdala, hippocampus, and putamen.

CONCLUSIONS

Sleeping longer than recommended by the NSF is associated with a wide range of differences in brain structure, potentially indicative of poorer brain health. Sleeping less than recommended is distinctly associated with lower cortical surface areas. Future studies should assess the potential mechanisms of these differences and investigate long sleep duration as a putative marker of brain health.

Taking biological rhythms into account: From study design to results reporting

Numerous physiological and behavioral processes in living organisms exhibit strong rhythmicity and are regulated within a 24-hour cycle. These include locomotor activity and sleep patterns, feeding-fasting cycles, hormone synthesis, body temperature, and even mood and cognitive abilities, all of which are segregated into different phases throughout the day. These processes are governed by the internal timing system, a hierarchical multi-oscillator structure conserved across all organisms, from bacteria to humans. Circadian rhythms have been seen across multiple taxonomic kingdoms. In mammals, a hierarchical internal timing system is comprised of so-called central and periphereal clocks. Although these rhythms are intrinsic, they are under environmental influences, such as seasonal temperature changes, photoperiod variations, and day-night cycles. Recognizing the existence of biological rhythms and their primary external influences is crucial when designing and reporting experiments. Neglecting these physiological variations may result in inconsistent findings and misinterpretations. Thus, here we propose to incorporate biological rhythms into all stages of human and animal research, including experiment design, analysis, and reporting of findings. We also provide a flowchart to support decision-making during the design process, considering biological rhythmicity, along with a checklist outlining key factors that should be considered and documented throughout the study. This comprehensive approach not only benefits the field of chronobiology but also holds value for various other research disciplines. The insights gained from this study have the potential to enhance the validity, reproducibility, and overall quality of scientific investigations, providing valuable guidance for planning, developing, and communicating scientific studies.

Neurobehavioral Reward and Sleep-Circadian Profiles Predict Present and Next-Year Mania/Hypomania Symptoms

BACKGROUND

Heightened reward sensitivity/impulsivity, related neural activity, and sleep-circadian disruption are important risk factors for bipolar spectrum disorders, the defining feature of which is mania/hypomania. Our goal was to identify neurobehavioral profiles based on reward and sleep-circadian features and examine their specificity to mania/hypomania versus depression vulnerability.

METHODS

At baseline, a transdiagnostic sample of 324 adults (18-25 years) completed trait measures of reward sensitivity (Behavioral Activation Scale), impulsivity (UPPS-P-Negative Urgency), and a functional magnetic resonance imaging card-guessing reward task (left ventrolateral prefrontal activity to reward expectancy, a neural correlate of reward motivation and impulsivity, was extracted). At baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up, the Mood Spectrum Self-Report Measure - Lifetime Version assessed lifetime predisposition to subthreshold-syndromal mania/hypomania, depression, and sleep-circadian disturbances (insomnia, sleepiness, reduced sleep need, rhythm disruption). Mixture models derived profiles from baseline reward, impulsivity, and sleep-circadian variables.

RESULTS

Three profiles were identified: 1) healthy (no reward or sleep-circadian disruption; n = 162); 2) moderate-risk (moderate reward and sleep-circadian disruption; n = 109); and 3) high-risk (high impulsivity and sleep-circadian disruption; n = 53). At baseline, the high-risk group had significantly higher mania/hypomania scores than the other groups but did not differ from the moderate-risk group in depression scores. Over the follow-up period, the high-risk and moderate-risk groups exhibited elevated mania/hypomania scores, whereas depression scores increased at a faster rate in the healthy group than in the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Cross-sectional and next-year predisposition to mania/hypomania is associated with a combination of heightened reward sensitivity and impulsivity, related reward circuitry activity, and sleep-circadian disturbances. These measures can be used to detect mania/hypomania risk and provide targets to guide and monitor interventions.

Effect of circadian rhythm on NAD and other metabolites in human brain

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD) plays a central role in the master circadian clock of the brain (the suprachiasmatic nuclei, SCN) as demonstrated in many model organisms. NAD acts as an enzyme co-factor and substrate and its modulation was found to be tightly regulated to the periodicity of the cycles. However, in human brain, the effect of the circadian rhythm (CR) on the metabolism of the SCN and other brain regions is poorly understood. We conducted a magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) study at a high magnetic field, measuring the occipital brain NAD levels and other metabolites in two different morning and afternoon diurnal states in 25 healthy participants. Salivary cortisol levels were determined to confirm that the experiment was done in two chronologically different physiological conditions, and a behavioral test of risk-taking propensity was administered. Overall, we found that the CR did not significantly affect NAD levels in the occipital brain region. The other brain metabolites measured, including lactate, were not significantly affected by the CR either, except for taurine. The CR did impact risk-taking behavior and salivary cortisol level, confirming that the participants were in two circadian different behavioral and physiological states in the morning and in the afternoon. Measurement of the CR effect on NAD and taurine levels in other brain regions might provide stronger effects.

Social jetlag and trajectories of mood symptoms and reward responsiveness in individuals at low-risk, high-risk, and with bipolar spectrum disorders: An ecological momentary assessment study

A specific type of sleep disruption, social jetlag, involves an incongruence of sleep time between weekends and weekdays. This study investigated relationships between social jetlag and mood symptom lability and trajectories of daily reward responsiveness and mood symptoms. Participants (N = 130) from three groups (moderate reward sensitivity, high reward sensitivity, and high reward sensitivity with a diagnosed bipolar spectrum disorder [BSD]) were recruited from an ongoing longitudinal study based on their self-reported reward sensitivity and a diagnostic interview. For this study, they completed 20 days of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of reward responsiveness and mood symptoms and a daily sleep diary. Social jetlag was significantly associated with differences in trajectories of depressive symptoms between groups. Specifically, greater social jetlag was associated with a greater increase in depressive symptoms over the 20 days for participants in the high reward sensitivity and BSD groups compared to the moderate reward sensitivity group. Social jetlag also was significantly associated with depressive symptom lability during the EMA period, but this finding was reduced to a trend toward significance when controlling for self-reported sleep duration. The study adds to the literature with methodological strengths including the EMA design and assessment of symptom and reward responsiveness trajectories.

Circadian, Reward, and Emotion Systems in Teens prospective longitudinal study: protocol overview of an integrative reward-circadian rhythm model of first onset of bipolar spectrum disorder in adolescence

BACKGROUND

Bipolar spectrum disorders (BSDs) are associated with a heightened sensitivity to rewards and elevated reward-related brain function in cortico-striatal circuitry. A separate literature documents social and circadian rhythm disruption in BSDs. Recently, integrated reward-circadian models of BSDs have been proposed. These models draw on work indicating that the two systems influence each other and interact to affect mood functioning. When dysregulated, reward and circadian system signaling may combine to form a positive feedback loop, whereby dysregulation in one system exacerbates dysregulation in the other. Project CREST (Circadian, Reward, and Emotion Systems in Teens) provides a first systematic test of reward-circadian dysregulation as a synergistic and dynamic vulnerability for first onset of BSD and increases in bipolar symptoms during adolescence.

METHODS

This NIMH-funded R01 study is a 3-year prospective, longitudinal investigation of approximately 320 community adolescents from the broader Philadelphia area, United States of America. Eligible participants must be 13-16 years old, fluent in English, and without a prior BSD or hypomanic episode. They are being selected along the entire dimension of self-reported reward responsiveness, with oversampling at the high tail of the dimension in order to increase the likelihood of BSD onsets. At Times 1-6, every 6 months, participants will complete assessments of reward-relevant and social rhythm disruption life events and self-report and diagnostic assessments of bipolar symptoms and episodes. Yearly, at Times 1, 3, and 5, participants also will complete self-report measures of circadian chronotype (morningness-eveningness) and social rhythm regularity, a salivary dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) procedure to assess circadian phase, self-report, behavioral, and neural (fMRI) assessments of monetary and social reward responsiveness, and a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) period. During each EMA period, participants will complete continuous measures of sleep/wake and activity (actigraphy), a daily sleep diary, and three within-day (morning, afternoon, evening) measures of life events coded for reward-relevance and social rhythm disruption, monetary and social reward responsiveness, positive and negative affect, and hypo/manic and depressive symptoms. The fMRI scan will occur on the day before and the DLMO procedure will occur on the first evening of the 7-day EMA period.

DISCUSSION

This study is an innovative integration of research on multi-organ systems involved in reward and circadian signaling in understanding first onset of BSD in adolescence. It has the potential to facilitate novel pharmacological, neural, and behavioral interventions to treat, and ideally prevent, bipolar conditions.

Functional connectivity from dorsolateral prefrontal cortex mediates the impact of social jetlag on depressive tendency in young adults

Social jetlag (SJL), a form of circadian rhythm disturbance, is linked to depressive symptoms; however, it is unclear what role the brain network, particularly the reward and cognitive control circuits, plays in this association. To address this issue, employing the ventral striatum (VS) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as seeds, we used voxel-level whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) to determine the neural basis of the association between SJL and depressive tendency. Behavioral results indicated that SJL was positively associated with depression scores. Functional connection results showed that higher SJL was linked with decreased FC between the inferior orbitofrontal cortex and the VS. For DLPFC, we discovered changed FC in frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes related to SJL. More importantly, the mediation analysis revealed that the DLPFC-cuneus FC significantly mediated the relationship between SJL and depression scores. According to our study, higher SJL showed abnormal FC from the VS and DLPFC, which may involve attention impairments, cognitive control and reward function. Our results suggest that brain FC involving visual attention may explain the relationship between SJL and depressive tendency. This may offer new insights into the neural underpinnings of how circadian misalignment leads to mood issues.

The contribution of the left precuneus to emotion memory in migraine without aura patients

Background

The impact of migraine without aura (MWoA) on cognitive function remains controversial, especially given the sparse literature on emotional memory.

Methods

Twenty seven MWoA patients and 25 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Emotional memory behavior was evaluated by combining incidental encoding with intentional encoding of five emotional categories of visual stimulus [positive valence + high arousal (PH), negative valence + high arousal (NH), positive valence + low arousal (PL), negative valence + low arousal (NL), and neutral (N)]. The recollection performance (Pr) was measured and compared. Then, the neural relevance was explored by correlating the Pr with gray matter volume (GMV) and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) based on structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Results

No significant differences in recollection performance or emotional enhancement of memory effect were observed. However, MWoA patients were more sensitive to the valence and arousal of emotional stimuli under incidental encoding. Significantly, the Pr-PH under incidental encoding and Pr-PL under intentional encoding were negatively correlated with the GMV of the left precuneus, and the rs-FC between the left precuneus and putamen was positively correlated with Pr-PL under intentional encoding in MWoA patients.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated the tendency for the influence of migraine on emotional memory and revealed the left precuneus as a critical contributor to recollection performance, providing novel insights for understanding emotional memory and its neural mechanisms in MWoA patients.

The Mind After Midnight: Nocturnal Wakefulness, Behavioral Dysregulation, and Psychopathology

Sufficient sleep with minimal interruption during the circadian/biological night supports daytime cognition and emotional regulation. Conversely, disrupted sleep involving significant nocturnal wakefulness leads to cognitive and behavioral dysregulation. Most studies to-date have examined how fragmented or insufficient sleep affects next-day functioning, but recent work highlights changes in cognition and behavior that occur when someone is awake during the night. This review summarizes the evidence for day-night alterations in maladaptive behaviors, including suicide, violent crime, and substance use, and examines how mood, reward processing, and executive function differ during nocturnal wakefulness. Based on this evidence, we propose the Mind after Midnight hypothesis in which attentional biases, negative affect, altered reward processing, and prefrontal disinhibition interact to promote behavioral dysregulation and psychiatric disorders.

Adrift in time: the subjective experience of circadian challenge during COVID-19 amongst people with mood disorders

Social distancing/lockdown policies during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may alter social rhythms of people through imposition of restrictions on normal daily activities. This may in turn challenge circadian function, particularly in people with mood disorders. Although objective data describing the relationship between circadian disturbances and mood disorders exist, data regarding the subjective experience of circadian challenge is sparse, and its association with mood symptoms is unclear. The present qualitative study was one component of a mixed-methods multi-national project, which took advantage of widespread disruption to daily routines due to Government COVID-related lockdowns during 2020. The Behavior Emotion and Timing during COVID-19 (BEATCOVID) survey study included three open questions generating qualitative data on participants' subjective experience of social disruption due to social distancing/lockdown policies, two of which asked about the barriers and opportunities for stabilizing routines. Responses were coded and analyzed using Thematic Analysis. A total of N = 997 participants responded to at least one of the free-text questions. Four themes were identified: 1) loss of daily timed activities, 2) role of social interaction, 3) altered time perception and 4) disruption to motivation and associated psychological effects. Themes were organized into a provisional heuristic map, generating hypotheses for future research centered on the new concept of 'psychological drift.'

Daytime and season do not affect reinforcement learning capacity in a response time adjustment task

Seasonal and circadian rhythms have a broad impact on physiological aspects, such as dopamine neurotransmission, and may be involved in the etiology of mood disorders. Considering this, studies on the influence of season and daytime on cognitive function are rare. The present study aimed to assess the impact of seasonal and diurnal effects on the ability to maximize reward outcomes by optimizing response times adaptively. For this purpose, a reward-based learning task that required an adaptation of response time to either a fast or a slow response was used. Eighty German participants (mean age ± SD = 21.86 ± 1.89 years, 41 women) were examined twice, in the morning and in the evening. Half of the participants were tested during the summer, while the other half performed the test in the winter. No impact of daytime, season or of the external factors photoperiodicity and temperature on reinforcement learning could be found. However, a generally slower response speed in the morning compared to the evening appeared. Previously conducted tasks could not display behavioral differences in both times of season and daytime, although neurophysiological findings suggest it.

Identifying Diurnal Variability of Brain Connectivity Patterns Using Graph Theory

Significant differences exist in human brain functions affected by time of day and by people’s diurnal preferences (chronotypes) that are rarely considered in brain studies. In the current study, using network neuroscience and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data, we examined the effect of both time of day and the individual’s chronotype on whole-brain network organization. In this regard, 62 participants (39 women; mean age: 23.97 ± 3.26 years; half morning- versus half evening-type) were scanned about 1 and 10 h after wake-up time for morning and evening sessions, respectively. We found evidence for a time-of-day effect on connectivity profiles but not for the effect of chronotype. Compared with the morning session, we found relatively higher small-worldness (an index that represents more efficient network organization) in the evening session, which suggests the dominance of sleep inertia over the circadian and homeostatic processes in the first hours after waking. Furthermore, local graph measures were changed, predominantly across the left hemisphere, in areas such as the precentral gyrus, putamen, inferior frontal gyrus (orbital part), inferior temporal gyrus, as well as the bilateral cerebellum. These findings show the variability of the functional neural network architecture during the day and improve our understanding of the role of time of day in resting-state functional networks.

Two Players in the Field: Hierarchical Model of Interaction between the Dopamine and Acetylcholine Signaling Systems in the Striatum

Tight interactions exist between dopamine and acetylcholine signaling in the striatum. Dopaminergic neurons express muscarinic and nicotinic receptors, and cholinergic interneurons express dopamine receptors. All neurons in the striatum are pacemakers. An increase in dopamine release is activated by stopping acetylcholine release. The coordinated timing or synchrony of the direct and indirect pathways is critical for refined movements. Changes in neurotransmitter ratios are considered a prominent factor in Parkinson’s disease. In general, drugs increase striatal dopamine release, and others can potentiate both dopamine and acetylcholine release. Both neurotransmitters and their receptors show diurnal variations. Recently, it was observed that reward function is modulated by the circadian system, and behavioral changes (hyperactivity and hypoactivity during the light and dark phases, respectively) are present in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease. The striatum is one of the key structures responsible for increased locomotion in the active (dark) period in mice lacking M₄ muscarinic receptors. Thus, we propose here a hierarchical model of the interaction between dopamine and acetylcholine signaling systems in the striatum. The basis of this model is their functional morphology. The next highest mode of interaction between these two neurotransmitter systems is their interaction at the neurotransmitter/receptor/signaling level. Furthermore, these interactions contribute to locomotor activity regulation and reward behavior, and the topmost level of interaction represents their biological rhythmicity.

Measuring circadian function in bipolar disorders: Empirical and conceptual review of physiological, actigraphic, and self-report approaches

BACKGROUND

Interest in biological clock pathways in bipolar disorders (BD) continues to grow, but there has yet to be an audit of circadian measurement tools for use in BD research and practice.

PROCEDURE

The International Society for Bipolar Disorders Chronobiology Task Force conducted a critical integrative review of circadian methods that have real-world applicability. Consensus discussion led to the selection of three domains to review-melatonin assessment, actigraphy, and self-report.

RESULTS

Measurement approaches used to quantify circadian function in BD are described in sufficient detail for researchers and clinicians to make pragmatic decisions about their use. A novel integration of the measurement literature is offered in the form of a provisional taxonomy distinguishing between circadian measures (the instruments and methods used to quantify circadian function, such as dim light melatonin onset) and circadian constructs (the biobehavioral processes to be measured, such as circadian phase).

CONCLUSIONS

Circadian variables are an important target of measurement in clinical practice and biomarker research. To improve reproducibility and clinical application of circadian constructs, an informed systematic approach to measurement is required. We trust that this review will decrease ambiguity in the literature and support theory-based consideration of measurement options.

Time of day differences in neural reward responsiveness in children

The Reward Positivity (∆RewP) event-related potential (ERP), generally quantified as the difference between neural responsiveness to monetary gains (RewP-Gain) and losses (RewP-Loss) is commonly used as an index of neural reward responsiveness. Despite the popularity of this ERP component in studies of reward processing, knowledge about the role of state-related influences on the ∆RewP is limited. The present study examined whether ∆RewP amplitudes may differ based on when during the day they are assessed and whether age or sex would moderate this link. Participants were 188 children between the ages of 7 and 11 (47.3% female) without a lifetime history of a major depressive disorder or any anxiety disorder recruited from the community. Children completed the Doors task during which continuous electroencephalography was recorded to isolate the ∆RewP. To better isolate this ERP component from other temporally or spatially overlapping ERPs, we used temporospatial principal component analysis. We found that time of day (ToD) differences in the ∆RewP amplitude varied based on children's age. Specifically, older, compared to younger, children exhibited stronger responses to gains versus losses between 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and after around 5:15 p.m. Further, these age-related differences appeared to be driven specifically by older children's reduced neural responsiveness to losses. The findings have methodological implications by highlighting the importance of accounting for the ToD at which ∆RewP-focused study sessions are conducted as well as for demographic characteristics of the participants, such as their age.