Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-4), Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany.
JARA-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
Brain Struct Funct. 2018 Sep;223(7):3411-3421. doi: 10.1007/s00429-018-1697-y. Epub 2018 Jun 15.
Based on individual circadian cycles and associated cognitive rhythms, humans can be classified via standardised self-reports as being early (EC), late (LC) and intermediate (IC) chronotypes. Alterations in neural cortical structure underlying these chronotype differences have rarely been investigated and are the scope of this study. 16 healthy male ECs, 16 ICs and 16 LCs were measured with a 3 T MAGNETOM TIM TRIO (Siemens, Erlangen) scanner using a magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo sequence. Data were analysed by applying voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and vertex-wise cortical thickness (CTh) analysis. VBM analysis revealed that ECs showed significantly lower grey matter volumes bilateral in the lateral occipital cortex and the precuneus as compared to LCs, and in the right lingual gyrus, occipital fusiform gyrus and the occipital pole as compared to ICs. CTh findings showed lower grey matter volumes for ECs in the left anterior insula, precuneus, inferior parietal cortex, and right pars triangularis than for LCs, and in the right superior parietal gyrus than for ICs. These findings reveal that chronotype differences are associated with specific neural substrates of cortical thickness, surface areas, and folding. We conclude that this might be the basis for chronotype differences in behaviour and brain function. Furthermore, our results speak for the necessity of considering "chronotype" as a potentially modulating factor in all kinds of structural brain-imaging experiments.
根据个体的生物钟周期和相关的认知节律，通过标准化的自我报告，人类可以被分类为早起型（EC）、晚起型（LC）和中间型（IC）。这些不同的生物钟类型背后的神经皮质结构的改变很少被研究，这也是本研究的范围。使用 3T MAGNETOM TIM TRIO（西门子，埃尔朗根）扫描仪，对 16 名健康男性 EC、16 名 IC 和 16 名 LC 进行了测量，使用磁化准备快速梯度回波序列。通过应用体素基形态测量学（VBM）和顶点皮质厚度（CTh）分析对数据进行了分析。VBM 分析显示，EC 组双侧外侧枕叶和楔前叶的灰质体积明显低于 LC 组，而右侧舌回、枕梭状回和枕极的灰质体积明显低于 IC 组。CTh 研究发现，与 LC 相比，EC 组左侧额下回、楔前叶、下顶叶和右侧三角部灰质体积较低，与 IC 相比，右侧顶上回灰质体积较低。这些发现表明，生物钟类型的差异与皮质厚度、表面积和折叠的特定神经基质有关。我们得出的结论是，这可能是行为和大脑功能中生物钟类型差异的基础。此外，我们的研究结果表明，在各种结构脑成像实验中，有必要考虑“生物钟类型”作为一个潜在的调节因素。
