Overview
- Researchers pooled results from 57 brain‑imaging studies in a Scientific Reports review and found consistent associations between sleep disorders and structural and activity changes in the brain.
- Parasomnias such as sleepwalking and nightmares were tied to alterations in the posterior cingulate cortex, a region that helps motivation, decision‑making and emotional control.
- Both parasomnias and dyssomnias showed reduced activity in the thalamus, the brain’s sensory filter that supports attention and concentration and whose change could explain lapses in focus.
- The authors stress these are associations rather than proof of cause and effect and call for targeted imaging and mechanistic studies to confirm how the changes arise and whether they can be reversed.
- If validated, the patterns could lead to earlier, condition‑specific diagnosis and treatments and may help explain why people with sleep disorders report poor concentration, mood shifts and higher injury risk, especially in older adults.