Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational study
Abstract Background Working in shifts can disrupt circadian rhythm and reduce sleep duration, which have a detrimental effect on cognitive function. Shift work is often a special requirement for nurses to provide continuous service for patients. The Stroop task is a classic method of executive funct...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Nursing |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03383-4 |
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| author | Ran An Cheng Li Shaolong Ai Yuan Wu Sha Wang Xi Luo Xin Li Yanming Xu Hongchen He Chengqi He |
| author_facet | Ran An Cheng Li Shaolong Ai Yuan Wu Sha Wang Xi Luo Xin Li Yanming Xu Hongchen He Chengqi He |
| author_sort | Ran An |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Working in shifts can disrupt circadian rhythm and reduce sleep duration, which have a detrimental effect on cognitive function. Shift work is often a special requirement for nurses to provide continuous service for patients. The Stroop task is a classic method of executive function (EF) applied in neuroimaging researches. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has created new opportunities for investigating the hemodynamics of cerebral activated regions during executive function. However, there has been no study exploring cerebral hemodynamics changes related to shift work by fNIRS in nurses during performing a Stroop paradigm. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of shift work on fNIRS-based cerebral functions during the Stroop task among nurses in a real clinical environment. Methods Nurses registered in the Department of Neurology were eligible and consecutively included if they were simultaneously responsible for the day, evening and night shifts on the shift work schedule. A multi-channel fNIRS imaging system (NirScan, Danyang Huichuang Medical Equipment Co. Ltd, China) was used to acquire each participant’s cerebral hemodynamic activities during performance of the Stroop task, which was performed for each subject separately before and after three working shifts. Results Eighteen nurses with certification were included in our study. Cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity were significantly changed during Stroop test after day-shift (all p < 0.05, FDR corrected), indicating a leading role of left PFC. Further, we identified the reaction time under incongruent task before day shift, was positively correlated with LPFC (r = 0.507, p = 0.038), RPFC (r = 0.547, p = 0.023) and BPFC activation (r = 0.512, p = 0.036). Conclusions Our study further supported fNIRS as a useful functional imaging technique for monitoring brain activity in healthcare providers. Also, brain activation and functional connectivity during Stroop task consistently showed that working in day shift was related to decreased brain hemodynamic activities in nurses. Further, our findings would be helpful for leadership in clinical management on decision-making about arrangements for shift work. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-876c2b02a34b4177af524fc35c448c9d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1472-6955 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Nursing |
| spelling | doaj-art-876c2b02a34b4177af524fc35c448c9d2025-08-20T04:01:56ZengBMCBMC Nursing1472-69552025-07-0124111210.1186/s12912-025-03383-4Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational studyRan An0Cheng Li1Shaolong Ai2Yuan Wu3Sha Wang4Xi Luo5Xin Li6Yanming Xu7Hongchen He8Chengqi He9Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityAbstract Background Working in shifts can disrupt circadian rhythm and reduce sleep duration, which have a detrimental effect on cognitive function. Shift work is often a special requirement for nurses to provide continuous service for patients. The Stroop task is a classic method of executive function (EF) applied in neuroimaging researches. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has created new opportunities for investigating the hemodynamics of cerebral activated regions during executive function. However, there has been no study exploring cerebral hemodynamics changes related to shift work by fNIRS in nurses during performing a Stroop paradigm. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of shift work on fNIRS-based cerebral functions during the Stroop task among nurses in a real clinical environment. Methods Nurses registered in the Department of Neurology were eligible and consecutively included if they were simultaneously responsible for the day, evening and night shifts on the shift work schedule. A multi-channel fNIRS imaging system (NirScan, Danyang Huichuang Medical Equipment Co. Ltd, China) was used to acquire each participant’s cerebral hemodynamic activities during performance of the Stroop task, which was performed for each subject separately before and after three working shifts. Results Eighteen nurses with certification were included in our study. Cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity were significantly changed during Stroop test after day-shift (all p < 0.05, FDR corrected), indicating a leading role of left PFC. Further, we identified the reaction time under incongruent task before day shift, was positively correlated with LPFC (r = 0.507, p = 0.038), RPFC (r = 0.547, p = 0.023) and BPFC activation (r = 0.512, p = 0.036). Conclusions Our study further supported fNIRS as a useful functional imaging technique for monitoring brain activity in healthcare providers. Also, brain activation and functional connectivity during Stroop task consistently showed that working in day shift was related to decreased brain hemodynamic activities in nurses. Further, our findings would be helpful for leadership in clinical management on decision-making about arrangements for shift work.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03383-4NursesShift workStroop taskFunctional near-infrared spectroscopyfNIRS |
| spellingShingle | Ran An Cheng Li Shaolong Ai Yuan Wu Sha Wang Xi Luo Xin Li Yanming Xu Hongchen He Chengqi He Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational study BMC Nursing Nurses Shift work Stroop task Functional near-infrared spectroscopy fNIRS |
| title | Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational study |
| title_full | Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational study |
| title_fullStr | Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational study |
| title_short | Effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses—implications for policy maker: a fNIRS observational study |
| title_sort | effect of shift work on cerebral cortical activation and functional connectivity in nurses implications for policy maker a fnirs observational study |
| topic | Nurses Shift work Stroop task Functional near-infrared spectroscopy fNIRS |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03383-4 |
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