The Association between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Function in Patients with Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenoma?s

Brown, Musaddiqah

The Association between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Function in Patients with Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenoma?s

Thesis / Dissertation

2023

Abstract

Existing research indicates that (a) cortisol and growth hormone are important for sleep regulation and cognition, (b) sleep is important for overall cognitive functioning (and for memory consolidation, in particular), and (c) patients with pituitary disease (PD) experience hormonal dysregulation, impaired quality of sleep, and particular patterns of cognitive dysfunction. However, the current study is the first to examine (using objective measures of sleep quality) whether there are relations among sleep disruption, cognitive impairment, and the presence of PD. Participants were 10 patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) and 10 case-matched healthy controls. Using a crossover design, each participant was administered standardized neuropsychological tests (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test [RAVLT], Wechsler Logical Memory Test [LM test], Finger Tapping Task [FTT]) assessing declarative and procedural memory performance after a period of sleep and after an equivalent period of wakefulness. Fitbit Alta HR devices recorded objective sleep data and the Pittsburgh Sleep Diary captured self-reported sleep data. Consistent with previous literature, analyses detected significant between-group differences in cognitive performance: Controls performed better than NFPA patients in certain aspects of cognition, particularly in Retention on the LM test p = .027 and Recognition on the RAVLT p = .011. With regards to objective sleep quality, analyses detected no significant between group differences on any of the variables measured, however, controls reported to have better subjective sleep quality than patients, p = .016, and they reported to be more alert when awakening than patients p = .015. Although the priori hypotheses were only partially confirmed, the current findings contribute to the existing body of psychological research on PD patients and may provide an impetus for further research in the field. For example, potential clinical and practical implications are that patients' relatively poor performance on certain memory tasks cognition can guide researchers and clinicians toward a deeper understanding of cognitive function in patients with PD and may, for instance, lead to a focus on specific memory rehabilitation interventions designed for this patient group. Such interventions may assist in improving their adherence to daily treatment regimens and their capacity to successfully complete other important daily activities.

Keywords

Psychology

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