AUTHOR=Shu Yongqiang , Chen Liting , Li Kunyao , Li Haijun , Kong Linghong , Liu Xiang , Li Panmei , Xie Wei , Zeng Yaping , Peng Dechang 

TITLE=Abnormal cerebellar-prefrontal cortical pathways in obstructive sleep apnea with/without mild cognitive impairment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.1002184

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2022.1002184

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common respiratory sleep disorder, is often associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is a precursor stage to AD. However, the neuroimaging changes in patients with OSA with/without MCI are still under discussion. This study aimed to investigate the the temporal variability of spontaneous brain activity in OSA. Fifty-two OSA patients (26 with OSA with MCI (OSA-MCI) and 26 OSA without MCI (OSA-nMCI) and 26 healthy controls (HCs) underwent MRI scans and scale questionnaires. A dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) evaluation was performed to examine the time-varying nature of OSA-MCI and OSA-nMCI. Compared with OSA-MCI, OSA-nMCI had increased dALFF in the posterior cerebellar and right superior frontal gyrus; compared with HCs, increased dALFF was observed in the right posterior cerebellum of OSA-nMCI patients. A positive correlation between the bilateral posterior cerebellar lobes and right superior frontal gyrus was observed in OSA-MCI patients; however, in OSA-nMCI patients, a positive correlation was observed only between the bilateral posterior cerebellar lobes. The dALFF value of the left posterior cerebellar lobe was positively correlated with the apnea-hypopnea index, epworth sleepiness scale score, and arousal index in OSA-nMCIs ; while the dALFF value of the right posterior cerebellum was positively correlated with the apnea-hypopnea index and negatively correlated with the lowest oxygen saturation. This study argues that OSA-nMCIs and OSA-MCIs exhibit different temporal variabilities in dynamic brain functions, OSA-nMCIs may have variable intermediate states. we concluded that the functional abnormalities of the cerebellar-prefrontal cortex pathway in OSA-MCIs may cause cognitive impairment with OSA.