Chen Xia, Zhao Shanguang, Chen Danni, Zhang Dan
Gynecology, Tsinghua University Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China.
Front Neurol. 2024 Dec 12;15:1487985. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1487985. eCollection 2024.
Sleep disorder is an important risk factor for postpartum depression. Although previous research has explored brain activity in postpartum depression, it has not fully revealed how insomnia affect mood by altering interactions between brain regions. This study aim to investigate the relationship between insomnia and depressive status in postpartum women, utilizing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore brain network topological properties. Among 143 postpartum women, 40 were diagnosed with insomnia and 103 without. The results indicated that the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores were significantly higher in the insomnia group compared to the control group. Compared with the control group, the insomnia group showed significantly increased connection strength of triangularis Broca's between middle and superior temporal gyrus and left between right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ( < 0.001). Brain network topological analysis revealed that the small-world properties, clustering coefficient ( = 0.009), and local efficiency ( = 0.009) were significantly lower in the insomnia group compared to the control group. Notably, the local efficiency and clustering coefficient of the left temporal pole were significantly reduced and negatively correlated with EPDS scores. These findings elucidate how insomnia may exacerbate postpartum depression through changes in brain network properties. While the observed alterations in connectivity suggest a correlation, causation cannot be definitively established. Improving sleep quality remains a promising intervention, but further research is needed to clarify causal links and therapeutic targets.
睡眠障碍是产后抑郁的一个重要风险因素。尽管先前的研究已经探讨了产后抑郁中的大脑活动，但尚未充分揭示失眠如何通过改变脑区之间的相互作用来影响情绪。本研究旨在调查产后女性失眠与抑郁状态之间的关系，利用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）探索脑网络拓扑特性。在143名产后女性中，40名被诊断为失眠，103名未患失眠。结果表明，与对照组相比，失眠组的爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）得分显著更高。与对照组相比，失眠组在颞中回与颞上回之间的布罗卡三角肌以及右侧背外侧前额叶皮层之间的左侧连接强度显著增加（<0.001）。脑网络拓扑分析显示，与对照组相比，失眠组的小世界属性、聚类系数（=0.009）和局部效率（=0.009）显著更低。值得注意的是，左侧颞极的局部效率和聚类系数显著降低，且与EPDS得分呈负相关。这些发现阐明了失眠如何通过脑网络属性的变化加剧产后抑郁。虽然观察到的连接性改变表明存在相关性，但无法明确建立因果关系。改善睡眠质量仍然是一种有前景的干预措施，但需要进一步研究来阐明因果联系和治疗靶点。
