The Association Among Attention,Sleep,and Depression

BackgroundThis study aimed to explore the relationship between attention control,sleep,and depression in college students and clinical patients with unipolar and bipolar disorder.To do so,the researchers employed a variety of research methods,such as questionnaires,eye-movement tracking,and sleep monitoring.The results of this study may provide insight into the potential mechanisms of depression and how it affects one’s work and life.Participant and methodIn Study 1,a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey was conducted on 549 college students to preliminarily validate hypotheses and provide support for subsequent experimental research.The survey utilized the Attention Control Scale(ACS),Insomnia Severity Index(ISI),and Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ-9)to measure subjective reported attention control,sleep,and depression.Established an intermediary model to preliminarily validate hypotheses and give backing for future experimental research.The study 2 revealed that UD patients had an avoidance reaction to angry faces in the bottom-up attention process,compared to HC.In the top-down attention process,UD patients had a preference for sad faces,compared to HC;however,UD was quicker in shifting attention to and from sad faces than BD patients.Furthermore,the degree of pupil dilation in all participants was linked to a reduced anger bias.Study 3 conducted a 14-day sleep monitoring experiment on 21 people with unipolar depression,23 with bipolar depression,and 55 healthy controls to investigate the sleep physiological characteristics of clinical patients.The research combined the subjective questionnaire evaluation of attention control and objective eye movement indicators from Study 2 to construct a mediation model to explore the connection between attention control,sleep,and depression.ResultIn study 1,attention control in college students has been found to have an influence on the intensity of depression,both directly and indirectly by intensifying sleep issues.The hypothesis has been partially confirmed.The study 2 revealed that UD patients displayed an avoidance of angry faces during the bottom-up attention process in comparison to HC.During the top-down attention process,UD patients exhibited a bias towards sad faces,yet were faster in transferring attention between these faces than BD patients.Additionally,the degree of pupil dilation associated with all participants was linked to a decrease in anger bias traits.In study 3,it was found that compared to healthy controls(HC),both bipolar disorder(BD)and unipolar disorder(UD)patients exhibited greater variability in their sleep duration and total sleep duration over a period of 14 days,leading to a more disordered sleep pattern.UD patients had a longer total sleep duration,while BD patients had a greater degree of variability in their 14 day sporadic naps.The mediation model based on attention eye movement indicators showed that avoidance of angerrelated attention had an effect on depression by influencing the sleep rhythm.However,the mediation model Ⅱ based on subjective reporting indicators of attention revealed that the mediating effect of the attention control questionnaire score was not significant,and baseline depression was found to predict subsequent sleep rhythm and attention control.ConclusionIn comparison to HC,UD and BD patients show alterations in attention characteristics and sleep physiology,though the performance is distinct.Concerning attentional capability,UD patients manifest negative avoidance during the bottom-up attention process,in contrast to HC,while BD patients do not demonstrate negative bias in the top-down attention process.Moreover,compared to BD patients,UD patients display augmented alertness to sorrowful faces during the top-down attention process.In comparison to healthy controls,both unipolar depression(UD)and bipolar disorder(BD)patients display disrupted sleep rhythms at two weeks in terms of sleep issues.UD patients show signs of drowsiness,whereas this alteration has yet to be observed in BD patients.The findings from Studies 1 and 3 of Model 1 suggest that sleep acts as a mediator in the process of attention control influencing depression,thereby highlighting the necessity of using objective methods to evaluate attention control and providing new ideas for further research and clinical applications.