Sleep patterns and brain structure in adolescents
Universiteit Utrecht, Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen
200500046: Adolescent Development
14 April, 2022
Word count: 2130
, Abstract
During adolescence inadequate sleep patterns characterized as later wake-up time and
bedtime that have become pervasive in contemporary society over the past 103 years. As
previous reviews are mainly about sleep and brain function during adolescence, focus has
shifted towards brain structure. Therefore, this review aims to find a link between sleep
patterns and brain structure in adolescents. Recently published research papers between 2016
and 2022 are reviewed. Results based on five articles, all cross-sectional studies, show that
different sleep patterns have different effects on the brain structure. It seems like that the
structure of the Default Mode Network regions, the hippocampus and the amygdala are
somehow associated with sleep in adolescents. However, the articles cannot be compared due
to different independent variables and methods. This does not change that sleep still has an
important function in the brain development of adolescents and interventions should be
developed.
Keywords: sleep, brain structure, adolescence
Universiteit Utrecht, Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen
200500046: Adolescent Development
14 April, 2022
Word count: 2130
, Abstract
During adolescence inadequate sleep patterns characterized as later wake-up time and
bedtime that have become pervasive in contemporary society over the past 103 years. As
previous reviews are mainly about sleep and brain function during adolescence, focus has
shifted towards brain structure. Therefore, this review aims to find a link between sleep
patterns and brain structure in adolescents. Recently published research papers between 2016
and 2022 are reviewed. Results based on five articles, all cross-sectional studies, show that
different sleep patterns have different effects on the brain structure. It seems like that the
structure of the Default Mode Network regions, the hippocampus and the amygdala are
somehow associated with sleep in adolescents. However, the articles cannot be compared due
to different independent variables and methods. This does not change that sleep still has an
important function in the brain development of adolescents and interventions should be
developed.
Keywords: sleep, brain structure, adolescence
