Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysis

BackgroundInvestigating brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep is crucial for understanding the coordinated regulatory mechanisms of multiple systems during sleep. Non-invasive continuous physiological signal acquisition techniques have been widely applied in brain-heart dynamic assessment. However,...

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Main Authors: Guojing Wang, Hongyun Liu, Shijing Wu, Xiaohua Yu, Weidong Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1594759/full
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author Guojing Wang
Guojing Wang
Guojing Wang
Hongyun Liu
Hongyun Liu
Shijing Wu
Shijing Wu
Xiaohua Yu
Xiaohua Yu
Weidong Wang
Weidong Wang
author_facet Guojing Wang
Guojing Wang
Guojing Wang
Hongyun Liu
Hongyun Liu
Shijing Wu
Shijing Wu
Xiaohua Yu
Xiaohua Yu
Weidong Wang
Weidong Wang
author_sort Guojing Wang
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundInvestigating brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep is crucial for understanding the coordinated regulatory mechanisms of multiple systems during sleep. Non-invasive continuous physiological signal acquisition techniques have been widely applied in brain-heart dynamic assessment. However, current research on gut function primarily focuses on gut microbiota, with a lack of systematic investigation into the macroscopic dynamic changes of gut function. This study, therefore, based on multiple non-invasive physiological signals, aims to explore the dynamic changes and underlying mechanisms of brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep.MethodsThe study enrolled 24 healthy subjects, and collected electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and bowel sounds (BS) signals during sleep. Through signal processing and spectral analysis, power spectral values of each physiological signal in different frequency bands were extracted. The maximal information coefficient (MIC) method was employed to dynamically monitor and quantitatively analyze the coupling strength of brain-heart-gut during sleep.ResultsThe study revealed that the strength of brain-heart-gut coupling significantly varied with sleep stages, showing a gradual weakening trend as sleep deepened. In terms of heart-gut coupling (HGC), the coupling strength between the very low frequency (VLF) band of heart rate variability (HRV) and all BS-derived power sequences was significantly lower than other HRV frequency bands. Regarding brain-heart coupling (BHC), the EEG-beta band showed distinct sleep-stage-dependent coupling characteristics with HRV frequency bands, while the EEG-delta band exhibited higher coupling strength with HRV bands during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Additionally, the coupling strength of HGC was significantly higher than that of BGC.ConclusionThis study successfully achieved quantitative assessment of brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep based on continuous physiological signals, revealing specific patterns of coupling strength changes across different sleep stages. This research provides new methodological support for the diagnosis of sleep disorders and functional bowel diseases, holding significant theoretical value and clinical application prospects.
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spelling doaj-art-8d154450907b4d7dbd9cef8ea5182be12025-08-20T03:48:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2025-05-011910.3389/fnins.2025.15947591594759Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysisGuojing Wang0Guojing Wang1Guojing Wang2Hongyun Liu3Hongyun Liu4Shijing Wu5Shijing Wu6Xiaohua Yu7Xiaohua Yu8Weidong Wang9Weidong Wang10Division of Medical Innovation Research, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, ChinaDivision of Medical Innovation Research, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaDivision of Medical Innovation Research, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaDivision of Medical Innovation Research, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaDivision of Medical Innovation Research, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, ChinaBackgroundInvestigating brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep is crucial for understanding the coordinated regulatory mechanisms of multiple systems during sleep. Non-invasive continuous physiological signal acquisition techniques have been widely applied in brain-heart dynamic assessment. However, current research on gut function primarily focuses on gut microbiota, with a lack of systematic investigation into the macroscopic dynamic changes of gut function. This study, therefore, based on multiple non-invasive physiological signals, aims to explore the dynamic changes and underlying mechanisms of brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep.MethodsThe study enrolled 24 healthy subjects, and collected electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and bowel sounds (BS) signals during sleep. Through signal processing and spectral analysis, power spectral values of each physiological signal in different frequency bands were extracted. The maximal information coefficient (MIC) method was employed to dynamically monitor and quantitatively analyze the coupling strength of brain-heart-gut during sleep.ResultsThe study revealed that the strength of brain-heart-gut coupling significantly varied with sleep stages, showing a gradual weakening trend as sleep deepened. In terms of heart-gut coupling (HGC), the coupling strength between the very low frequency (VLF) band of heart rate variability (HRV) and all BS-derived power sequences was significantly lower than other HRV frequency bands. Regarding brain-heart coupling (BHC), the EEG-beta band showed distinct sleep-stage-dependent coupling characteristics with HRV frequency bands, while the EEG-delta band exhibited higher coupling strength with HRV bands during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Additionally, the coupling strength of HGC was significantly higher than that of BGC.ConclusionThis study successfully achieved quantitative assessment of brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep based on continuous physiological signals, revealing specific patterns of coupling strength changes across different sleep stages. This research provides new methodological support for the diagnosis of sleep disorders and functional bowel diseases, holding significant theoretical value and clinical application prospects.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1594759/fullbrain-heart-gut couplingsleepmaximal information coefficientcontinuous physiological signalsbowel sounds
spellingShingle Guojing Wang
Guojing Wang
Guojing Wang
Hongyun Liu
Hongyun Liu
Shijing Wu
Shijing Wu
Xiaohua Yu
Xiaohua Yu
Weidong Wang
Weidong Wang
Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysis
Frontiers in Neuroscience
brain-heart-gut coupling
sleep
maximal information coefficient
continuous physiological signals
bowel sounds
title Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysis
title_full Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysis
title_fullStr Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysis
title_full_unstemmed Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysis
title_short Dynamic brain-heart-gut coupling during sleep: a continuous physiological signal analysis
title_sort dynamic brain heart gut coupling during sleep a continuous physiological signal analysis
topic brain-heart-gut coupling
sleep
maximal information coefficient
continuous physiological signals
bowel sounds
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1594759/full
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