Patterns of interhemispheric interactions in the short day sleep episodes

Abstract

Previously, based on the material of multiple wake-sleep transitions when performing a bimanual psychomotor test based on a mobile app, we identified and interpreted 4 qualitatively different patterns of behavioral activity. In the same 191 1-hour experiments within 73 students we analyzed the data to see how interhemispheric interactions change when waking up from sleep. Using the Ward hierarchical clustering method, 4 clusters were identified. The average values of behavioral indicators in clusters were estimated, two sets of clusters were compared using Pearson’s chi-square test. It is shown that the pronounced pattern of asymmetry between the hands is the rarest; for the least “sleepy” cluster, alternating awakenings with different hands is characteristic, for the most “sleepy” – the least predictability of patterns over time. It is also shown that the “asymmetric” and “sleepy” clusters never switched each other between falling asleep and waking up, and are more often switched by the remaining two clusters than vice versa. The results obtained can reflect the dynamics of interhemispheric interactions during sleep-wake transitions. It is argued that the differences between the clusters are due to the restructuring of functional connectivity in different ranges of EEG activity.