https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01793-8
Regular Article
Variability and stability in sleeping brain networks during apnea
1
Center for Coordination of Fundamental Scientific Activities, National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine, Petroverigsky Per., 10, 101000, Moscow, Russia
2
Institute of Physics, Saratov State University, Astrahanskaia, 83, 410012, Saratov, Russia
3
Department of Biophysics and Digital Technologies, Saratov State Medical University, Bolshaya Kazachia St., 112, 410012, Saratov, Russia
Received:
9
April
2025
Accepted:
6
July
2025
Published online:
25
July
2025
This study aimed to compare global network structure of functional connectivity in different brain areas using EEG activity during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and healthy controls. Wavelet bicoherence mathematical method was used to evaluate functional connectivity. Betweenness centrality, harmonic centrality and closeness centrality evaluation was used to study the network structure. The most prominent differences in centrality metrics were observed during REM-sleep. Reliable differences between OSA patients and healthy controls were observed in connectivity of the occipital region of the brain for frequencies exceeding 8 Hz. The occipital brain region in patients with OSA restructures the patterns of oscillatory activity in the low-frequency band, while maintaining the structure of the functional network unchanged. In the high-frequency band (
Hz), the oscillatory activity remains unchanged, but the very structure of connections within the functional network varies. The differences observed in betweenness centrality of brain network activity may be related to the general association of apnea attacks with REM sleep. Further research is needed to clarify the role of changes in brain connectivity during OSA, whether they are compensatory or directly correlated with cognitive impairment.
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Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
