Cortical hierarchy underlying homeostatic sleep pressure alleviation
Sleep dissipates accumulated sleep pressure and restores brain function, yet how this recovery unfolds across the cortical hierarchy remains unclear. Here, we record simultaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 130 healthy adults to map spatial patterns underlying sleep pressure alleviation. Compared to wakefulness, sleep elicits spatially heterogeneous changes in BOLD fluctuation along a sensory-association cortical gradient. The magnitude of these sleep-wake differences correlates with individual slow-wave activity and is most pronounced during the first hour of sleep. As slow waves dissipates, these hierarchical differences are progressively downscaled, implicating homeostatic regulation in sculpting cortical plasticity. In addition, the homeostatic regulation of BOLD fluctuation amplitude is spatially associated with the regional distribution of glycolysis. Finally, recovery sleep reinstates hierarchical BOLD dynamics after sleep loss in an independent sleep deprivation study. These findings consistently suggest a cortical hierarchy underlying the dynamic changes in sleep homeostasis.
Authors
- Jia‐Hong Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9311-0297)
- Shilei Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8018-3665)
- Jing Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0388-5046)
- Guangyuan Zou
- Xi‐Nian Zuo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9110-585X)
- Lang Qin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7654-6278)
- Zihui Su (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2413-2521)
- Zaixu Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4385-8106)
- Qihong Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8732-6633)
- Hengyi Rao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2735-2500)
- Guoyuan Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7864-3714)
- Yan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8031-0716)
- Shuqin Zhou
- Xiangdong Tang
- Xiuwen Wu
- Yujie Long
Institutions
- Shanghai International Studies University (CN)
- Beijing Institute of Technology (CN)
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- Sichuan University (CN)
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- West China Hospital of Sichuan University (CN)
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research (CN)
- Center for Life Sciences (CN)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-11-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64989-5
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.86
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Peking University
- Shanghai International Studies University