Metrics of Functional Degradation in Sleep-Disordered Breathing: Neurocognitive, Psychomotor, and Neurophysiological Signatures

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and obstructive sleep apnea in particular, is not only a respiratory condition but may have important neurobiological consequences and adversely affect brain functioning. Intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation disrupt the neural control of sleep and wakefulness, alter cortical oscillatory activity, and degrade the restorative processes that support attention, memory consolidation, and executive function. The result is measurable functional degradation, which manifests as slowed psychomotor performance, daytime sleepiness, and neurocognitive and affective impairment. This may be present before clinical recognition and may persist despite treatment or after normalization of conventional sleep-related measures. Despite strong mechanistic plausibility, the field still lacks agreed, quantitative metrics that link the physiological burden of SDB to specific neurocognitive and neurophysiological outcomes, and that could sharpen screening before clinically apparent functional impairment. This Research Topic aims to consolidate the neuroscience of that degradation and the tools used to capture it.We welcome human mechanistic, translational, and quantitative studies, with complementary animal-model studies where directly relevant to the neurobiological mechanisms of SDB, that connect the physiology of disrupted sleep and breathing to brain function. Submissions should report a neurophysiological, neurocognitive, or mechanistic measure of brain function; studies reporting clinical or questionnaire-based outcomes alone, without such a measure, are better suited to other sections of Frontiers in Sleep. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:• Neural and cortical-oscillation signatures of intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation (EEG microstructure, spindles, slow-wave activity, arousal dynamics).• Effects of SDB on attention, psychomotor vigilance, learning, and memory consolidation.• The bidirectional relationship between disrupted sleep architecture and affective and behavioral consequences of SDB, where linked to measurable neurocognitive or neurophysiological dysfunction.• Quantitative “functional degradation” metrics that integrate polysomnographic, psychometric, and performance data into interpretable markers of brain impact.• Neurophysiological and neurocognitive markers of response to therapy (e.g. CPAP) as a window onto reversibility and recovery of brain function.• New analysis tools, screening instruments, and computational approaches, such as digital cognitive testing, computerized psychomotor testing, wearable-derived measures, digital biomarkers, and machine learning/AI, that improve detection and quantification of sleep-related neurocognitive impairment.• Development and validation of screening tools and objective performance-based measures, benchmarked against neurophysiological or neurocognitive markers, for identifying individuals with SDB-related functional impairment. Topic editors: Melinda Jackson, Ivana Pavlinac Dodig Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/87116/metrics-of-functional-degradation-in-sleep-disordered-breathing-neurocognitive-psychomotor-and-neurophysiological-signatures