Impact of Sleep Quality on Amygdala Reactivity, Negative Affect, and Perceived Stress

Objective: Research demonstrates a negative impact of sleep disturbance on mood and affect; however, the biological mecha-nisms mediating these links are poorly understood. Amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli has emerged as one potential pathway.Here, we investigate the influence of self-reported sleep quality on associations between threat-related amygdala reactivity and mea-sures of negative affect and perceived stress. Methods: Analyses on data from 299 participants (125 men, 50.5% white, mean[standard deviation] age = 19.6 [1.3] years) who completed the Duke Neurogenetics Study were conducted. Participants completedseveral self-report measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Threat-related (i.e., angry and fearful facial expressions) amyg-dala reactivity was assayed using blood oxygen levelYdependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Global sleep quality wasassessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results: Amygdala reactivity to fearful facial expressions predicted greater de-pressivesymptoms and higher perceived stress in poor (A values = 0.18Y1.86, p values G.05) but not good sleepers (A values = j0.13to j0.01, p values 9.05). In sex-specific analyses, men reporting poorer global sleep quality showed a significant association betweenamygdala reactivity and levels of depression and perceived stress (A values = 0.29Y0.44, p values G.05). In contrast, no significantassociations were observed in men reporting good global sleep quality or in women, irrespective of sleep quality. Conclusions: Thisstudy provides novel evidence that self-reported sleep quality moderates the relationships between amygdala reactivity, negativeaffect, and perceived stress, particularly among men. Key words: sleep, amygdala, stress, depression, negative affect.DNS = Duke Neurogenetics Study; BOLD fMRI = blood oxygenlevelYdependent functional magnetic resonance imaging; DSM-IV =Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders; FourthEdition; SCID = Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders;PSQI = Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; PSS = Perceived Stress Scale;CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Depression Scale; MASQ = Moodand Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire.