Sleep disorders and sleep deprivation cause changes in the brain: study

A review of 57 brain-imaging studies found a link between sleep disorders and reduced brain tissue volume in certain regions. The researchers recorded the most consistent changes in the thalamus — a brain structure responsible for transmitting sensory information and regulating attention. This is reported by Dr.Axe, according to UNN.

Details

The meta-analysis, first published on February 26, 2026, in the journal Scientific Reports, showed that people with sleep disorders display a consistent pattern of brain tissue loss in the thalamus, a deep brain structure that transmits sensory and attention signals

According to the available information, for the meta-analysis, scientists combined brain-scan data from 57 studies. Forty of them concerned dyssomnias — problems falling asleep or maintaining sleep, including insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy — while another 17 concerned parasomnias — disruptions of sleep cycles, including REM sleep behavior disorder, sleepwalking, and nightmare disorder. The researchers analyzed brain regions in which both decreases and increases in tissue volume had been recorded. The pooled results showed that, across different sleep disorders, the most consistent tissue loss was found in a single thalamic cluster.

When analyzing only the parasomnia studies, one cluster in the posterior cingulate cortex, a center involved in self-reflection and weighing outcomes, also showed consistent loss. No consistent pattern was found in the dyssomnia studies. Connectivity mapping linked the thalamic cluster to a network involved in attention and task performance, while the posterior cingulate cluster was linked to a network involved in reward and decision-making. The authors suggested that these changes may disrupt distributed brain networks associated with cognitive, emotional, and motivational functioning

According to the available information, the thalamus transmits sensory information to the thinking brain and helps direct attention, while the posterior cingulate cortex is part of the brain’s default mode network and helps weigh rewards and plan ahead.

The authors suggested that changes in the thalamus may contribute to attention lapses and errors common among people with poor sleep, while changes in the posterior cingulate cortex may affect reward sensitivity associated with sleep-cycle disorders.

This review of existing scans cannot say whether sleep problems caused the changes in the brain or vice versa, which means it demonstrates an association rather than proof. The group of 40 dyssomnia studies did not show a consistent pattern, which the authors attribute to the diversity of this category. There were no data at all for several sleep disorders, including circadian rhythm disorders

Previously

A group of scientists led by researchers from Stony Brook University in the United States identified the age at which human brain cells show the first signs of deterioration.