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Research progress on the effects of childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome on cognition and brain functions

WANG Yu-Lin^1,2, YANG Jing-Qi^1,2, DONG De-Bo^1,2,3, HE Zhi-Hui⁴, LEI Xu^1,2,*

¹Sleep and Neuroimaging Center, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China；²Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China；³Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52428, Germany；⁴Pediatric Respiratory Department, the Ninth People’s Hospital of Chongqing, Chongqing 400700, China

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), a prevalent sleep disorder in children, is characterized by recurring upper airway obstruction during sleep. OSAS in children can cause intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation, ultimately affect brain development and further lead to cognitive impairment if lack of timely effective intervention. In recent years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) have been employed to investigate brain structure and function abnormalities in children with OSAS. Previous studies have indicated that children with OSAS showed extensive gray and white matter damage, abnormal brain function in regions such as the frontal lobe and hippocampus, as well as a significant decline in general cognitive function and executive function. However, the existing studies mainly focused on the regional activity, and the mechanism of pediatric OSAS affecting brain networks remains unknown. Moreover, it’s unclear whether the alterations in brain structure and function are associated with their cognitive impairment. In this review article, we proposed two future research directions: 1) future studies should utilize the multimodal neuroimaging techniques to reveal the alterations of brain networks organization underlying pediatric OSAS; 2) further investigation is necessary to explore the relationship between brain network alteration and cognitive dysfunction in children with OSAS. With these efforts, it will be promising to identify the neuroimaging biomarkers for monitoring the brain development of children with OSAS as well as aiding its clinical diagnosis, and ultimately develop more effective strategies for intervention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Key words: pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome; brain function; brain structure; cognitive function; multimodal neuroimaging

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 雷旭　　E-mail: xlei@swu.edu.cn

Citing This Article：

WANG Yu-Lin, YANG Jing-Qi, DONG De-Bo, HE Zhi-Hui, LEI Xu. Research progress on the effects of childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome on cognition and brain functions. Acta Physiol Sin 2023; 75 (4): 575-586 (in Chinese with English abstract).