Dynamic Neurovascular Coupling during Sleep Inertia: An EEG-fMRI Fusion on Post-sleep Arousal and Spectral Slope

Upon emergence from sleep, individuals experience temporary hypo-vigilance and grogginess known as sleep inertia. During the transient period of vigilance recovery from prior nocturnal sleep, the neurovascular coupling (NVC) may not static and constant as assumed by previous neuroimaging studies. Stemming from this viewpoint in sleep inertia, this study aims to probe the NVC changes dynamically as awakening time prolongs using simultaneous EEG-fMRI. The time-lagged coupling between EEG features of vigilance and BOLD-fMRI signals, in selected regions of interest, was calculated with one pre-sleep and three consecutive post-awakening resting-state measures. We found marginal changes in EEG theta/beta ratio and spectral slope across post-awakening sessions, demonstrating alterations of vigilance during sleep inertia. Dynamic NVC as awakening prolonged was evidenced by the changing time lags of the peak correlation between EEG-vigilance and BOLD-thalamus, as well as BOLD-anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and EEG spectral slope. This study provides the first evidence of potential dynamicity of NVC in sleep inertia and opens new avenues for non-invasive neuroimaging investigations into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying brain state transitions.