The aging human brain exhibits reduced cerebrospinal fluid flow during sleep due to both neural and vascular factors.

ABSTRACT: Aging reduces the quality and quantity of sleep, and greater sleep loss over the lifespan is predictive of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. One mechanism by which sleep loss could contribute to impaired brain health is through disruption of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation. CSF is the primary waste transport system of the brain, and in young adults, CSF waves are largest during NREM sleep. However, whether sleep-dependent brain fluid physiology changes in aging is not known, due to the technical challenges of performing neuroimaging studies during sleep. We collected simultaneous fast fMRI and EEG data to measure large-scale CSF flow in healthy young and older adults and tested whether there were age-related changes to CSF dynamics during nighttime sleep. We found that sleep-d

SUBMITTER: Bailes SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11888257 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature